


In the Aftermath

by neonal



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Marley Defeated, Military Training, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Secret Identity, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:09:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 22,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28344426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neonal/pseuds/neonal
Summary: Armin’s wide blue eyes sparkled as he took in the sight of Wall Maria, the outermost of the three walls that protected the core population of the Eldian Empire. He’d been dreaming about this day ever since the 2000 Year Titan War ended some seven years ago, to finally make his way to New Eldia, formerly Paradis Island, and enter the sacred walls where Eldians were forever free to live as themselves, devoid of racial persecution.______________________________________________Seven years after the war, a determined Armin Arlert begins his journey enlisting in the New Eldia Defence Force. Despite the tough training, Armin felt he'd found his place in the new empire. It didn't hurt that he was working under a general who was drop dead gorgeous either.But with unknown threats lurking in the shadows, would they really be free from war?
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Eren Yeager
Comments: 81
Kudos: 130





	1. Chapter One

Armin’s wide blue eyes sparkled as he took in the sight of Wall Maria, the outermost of the three walls that protected the core population of the Eldian Empire. He’d been dreaming about this day ever since the 2000 Year Titan War ended some seven years ago, to finally make his way to New Eldia, formerly Paradis Island, and enter the sacred walls where Eldians were forever free to live as themselves, devoid of racial persecution.

  
Armin was just twelve years old when the war ended. Growing up in Marley, he’d heard his whole life that Eldians like himself were devils. Possessing the perfect genetic makeup to be turned into flesh-eating giants called titans, Eldians were not only feared but despised. Persecuted, enslaved and used as front-line soldiers in Marley, Armin knew his people weren’t the real devils. No, it was the people of Marley who truly deserved that title. As such, he’d dreamed of growing up and one day joining the fight to free his people from Marleyan oppression.

But while child Armin dreamed, his kin on Paradis Island, hidden away in their walled paradise, conducted expeditions beyond the walls to fight the titans that roamed the barren land and learn more about their origins. They eventually made their way to the continent. No one knows how, but one man known back then as The Jaeger, somehow acquired the power of the Nine Titans and used it to take down Marley’s forces. All the equipment Marley used to turn Eldians into Titans were destroyed and, when Marley was almost leveled, the government surrendered. The Jaeger then declared himself the new ruler of Marley and Paradis Island, now collectively known as the Eldian Empire. Paradis Island, a place where only those of Eldian blood were allowed to reside, would be renamed New Eldia and serve as the capital of this new empire. The Jaeger became King Jaeger.

  
Like many Eldian families in Marley, Armin’s chose to move to New Eldia after the war, taking all their belongings and settling on land located outside of the three walls. When the dust of the war began to settle, the Eldian Empire began its seven years of prosperity and peace. However, for all his seven years in New Eldia, he had never stepped foot inside the walls. 

  
That would change today.

  
Armin’s dream of becoming a soldier for his people didn’t change when the war ended. In fact, his desire to serve his country only grew after King Jaeger’s victory. It didn’t matter that there was no longer a war, nor did it matter that his male peers outgrew him and were physically stronger than his small, 5’6” frame. No, that didn’t deter him. Armin knew strength and physicality mattered in war. But he also knew that none of that mattered without intelligence and he had plenty of that.

  
At nineteen years old, he was finally old enough to begin his training for the New Eldia Defence Force. Before the war ended, children in New Eldia could become soldiers from as young as fifteen years old and he recalled that Marley would recruit children much younger than that to become ‘warriors’. It was rumoured that The Jaeger joined the military when he was young too, and no longer wanted to force such responsibilities upon children. Anyone who desired to become a soldier for their nation would have to be at least nineteen years old before they’re able to join.

  
Now that Armin was to begin his training, he would finally be able to see beyond the walls and actually enter them. The training camp was located within Wall Maria and that’s where Armin was on his way to. He could barely contain his excitement as he made his way to the gate, his passport in hand and luggage strapped tightly to his back. When he reached the gates, he got his passport checked and stamped before shuffling inside with other travelers, some of whom he guessed were on their way to the training camp like himself.

  
As he walked through the stone paved paths, he drank in the much more developed infrastructure inside the walls, smiling brightly at everyone who passed him by. They might have thought him to be weird but he didn’t care. He still couldn’t believe he was inside the walls. History was made here. In fact, he even heard that King Jaeger lived within Wall Maria for most of his early life. 

  
It didn’t take Armin long to find the training camp. He had to ask passersby for directions a few times on the way but they were nice enough to direct him. However, by the time he arrived it was nearly dark. It had taken him the whole day to get to the wall from his district. The guards looked at his identification and official documents before showing him off to the trainee barracks. Not to his surprise, the rooms were to be shared and Armin’s roommates were already inside.

  
The room was big enough to fit two bunk beds, a small dresser with four drawers and a medium sized closet. On top of the dresser was an already lit lamp, illuminating the room with a soft yellow glow. All three of his roommates were already inside. One of them had light brown hair and a rather long face in Armin’s opinion, one had greyish hair shorn low to his scalp and the third had chocolate brown hair and a kind face. If Armin had to guess, they were all his age too.

  
“Hi, I’m Armin Arlert,” Armin stated as he entered the room. “I guess I’m your roommate?” He didn’t mean to phrase that last sentence as a question. He supposed he was more nervous than he thought.

  
“Jean Kirstein,” long face said with a polite albeit stiff nod before returning his attention to his belongings, laid out on the bottom bunk of the right bed. He’d clearly already chosen where he would sleep, the other two seem to haven’t.

  
“Connie Springer,” grey hair said, giving Armin a smile and a small wave.

  
“Marco Bott,” kind face said, also smiling at Armin. “Ignore, Jean. He can be a bit of a stone when it comes to expressing himself around new people. He’s also really stubborn about his sleeping arrangements so we let him choose his bed first. Me and Connie here wanted to wait until you came to choose.”

  
“Wow, that’s nice of you,” Armin smiled back, his nerves dissipating. His roommates seemed nice so far. It had been his fear that he would end up with assholes who would make fun of his height and more delicate features, and even though he had no doubt he would come across trainees like that, he was grateful he didn’t have to room with any of them. 

  
“Is it okay if I take the other bottom bunk?” he asked. “If one of you wants it you can totally take it, I don’t mind. It’s just… I’ve never slept on a bunk bed. I don’t want to accidentally fall off the top bunk.”

  
“That’s fine with me. I was gonna volunteer to take the top bunk above Jean anyway,” Marco said. “Connie?”

  
“I’m fine with the top bunk,” Connie shrugged. Armin got the feeling that Connie was a go with the flow kind of guy, never letting anything bother him.

  
The four boys spent their time getting to know a bit about each other while they unpacked their little belongings. Armin learned that all three grew up in New Eldia and were shocked to learn about how Eldians were treated in Marley. They traded stories from their childhoods and Connie even claimed to have seen King Jaeger battle a female titan shifter in his original shifter form, before he acquired the power of the Nine Titans.

  
“Seriously! His first form was like fifteen meters tall but I heard that after he got the nine, he grew to seventy meters. That’s crazy!” Connie stated, flailing his arms about to express his own disbelief and earning laughs from his roommates. Even Jean, who was a bit stiff, laughed.

  
Armin listened in complete fascination as the stories went on. Despite the war that raged on outside of the walls, the people that grew up on New Eldia lived fairly peaceful lives. Their walls protected them from the titans that lurked beyond its barrier for hundreds of years and they lived in peace within them until it was breached. Once upon a time Armin couldn’t imagine such a thing. On the continent, his people lived their whole lives afraid of the Marleyans, knowing that the threat of being killed, turned into a titan or sold into slavery could become real at any moment. But here, in New Eldia, his people had nothing to fear but the titans who couldn’t breach their protective wall for centuries.  
The four boys supped on the food they brought with them, varying combinations of bread, cured meats, dried fruit and cheese before turning in for the night. They had a long day ahead of them, as their training would begin immediately the next day.

  
Armin fell asleep with excited butterflies in his stomach. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this first chapter for In The Aftermath!
> 
> I've had the idea for this floating around in my head since Season 4 started and I finally sat down to write. Do let me know if you like where this is going or any other thoughts you may have on my work. This is still a work in progress so the tags will be updated as I go.
> 
> Chapter 2 will be posted tomorrow.


	2. Chapter Two

There were one hundred and four people in that batch of recruits. After a quick shower in the morning and a breakfast of warm oatmeal and fruit in the mess hall, they were all issued uniforms and ordered to arrange themselves into five lines in the main courtyard after getting dressed. Their uniforms consisted of off-white pants tucked into high brown leather boots, an eggshell shirt and a tan, short leather jacket that bore the New Eldia insignia on the back, the same insignia that used to distinguish Paradis’ Survey Corps from the rest of its military brigades.

To his misfortune, Armin found himself at the front of his line, noting quickly that his roommates were all in other lines. Up front stood four obviously high ranking soldiers on a raised platform. There were two women and two men. One woman had chin-length black hair and a stern, almost bored expression painted across her unique features. Armin had never seen anyone who looked like her before. The second woman had dark brown hair pulled up in a messy ponytail with tendrils of her hair falling around her thick, rectangle framed glasses. Of the four, the man with the dark, straight hair and undercut was the smallest. He was even shorter than Armin himself, probably no taller than 5’3”. What he lacked in height, however, he made up in presence. Despite the dullness and narrowness of his eyes, he exuded an aura of authority. If Armin had to guess he would say he was the highest ranking officer on the platform. The other man was tall, blond and blue-eyed.

They said nothing as they stood on the platform. They seemed to be waiting for someone, Armin thought. He was right. Only moments after his initial thought did he note the arrival of a fifth soldier. He was tall, with dark brown hair and teal green eyes Armin could probably still make out the colour of even if he wasn’t at the front of the line. If the short soldier with the undercut exuded authority, this new soldier exuded absolute power. Despite appearing to be the youngest next to the unique looking woman, it was clear he was in charge. He fell in line next to her, giving a small nod to the blond man.

At that signal, the blond man stepped forward.

“My name is Regiment Commander Erwin Smith, Commander Erwin for short” he began. “Welcome to the Trainee Corps. With me we have Deputy Commanders Levi Ackerman and Hange Zoe,” he pointed to the man with the undercut and the woman with the glasses before continuing down the line, “As well as Captain Mikasa Ackerman and General Eren Jaeger.”

 _A general? So young?_ Armin thought. _Interesting._

Armin also wondered if the general was in any way related to the king. Apparently the last name Jaeger wasn’t as common in New Eldia as it had been in Marley. Perhaps his connection to the king was the reason for his high rank.

“Today marks your first day as recruits for the New Eldia Defence Force,” Commander Erwin continued. “Thanks to the work of King Jaeger himself and the thousands of New Eldians who fought bravely for centuries, we are able to enjoy this era of peace and prosperity. As soldiers of New Eldia, it is our job to defend that peace. By being here today, you are demonstrating the highest form of patriotism, whether you move on to become real soldiers or not.

“That being said, the next few weeks of training won’t be easy. For some, it will be more… _manageable_ … than others. But for the majority of you your strengths, endurance and loyalty will be tested rigorously. We’ll see how many of you make it to graduation or,” he paused, “how many of you will break.”

Armin wondered what the typical percentage of recruits who made it to graduation looked like. He knew the NEDF was a large military force, but he also knew they were constantly recruiting batch after batch of new trainees. The pass rate may very well be low and the reason for the constant stream of new recruits. He just hoped he would be one of the few, or many, who would graduate at the end of training.

Commander Erwin stepped back in line after his speech and Captain Mikasa stepped forward.

“Now I’m sure all of you have the brains to notice that there are five of us up here and five lines of you down there,” the captain stated, cutting to the chase. “Each line of trainees will be personally trained by one of us and before you even hope to get trained by one of the ‘nicer’ looking officers I’d like to tell you that there are no nice officers here. We’re not here to hold your hands and guide you down a flowery road to graduation. We’re here to train _soldiers_ who are to be ready for battle at any moment’s notice. It’s going to be tiring, it’s going to be tough. But, if you _really_ belong here, you’ll make it through to the end. 

“When you get assigned a leader, you will follow them to one of the sectioned off training grounds and await further instructions, clear?” she asked.

The other recruits remained silent but, on instinct, Armin spoke. “Yes, ma’am!” he said loudly, bringing his right fist across his chest to rest atop his left breast, the typical salute of a soldier. 

Armin’s face immediately went red when he realized no one else spoke and all eyes were on him, including those teal green ones that looked like they held the knowledge of a thousand years.

Captain Mikasa raised an unamused eyebrow at him and for a second Armin wondered if he’d done something wrong and remained frozen in his salute.

“I said, am I clear?” Captain Mikasa repeated. This time, everyone answered with a unified “yes ma’am” and Armin let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. 

“Good. General Jaeger?” she stated, looking back at teal eyes. “Which line of trainees will you take?”

The general, who had yet to speak the entire time, stepped forward and looked across at the lines of trainees. To Armin’s surprise, he jumped down from the platform and began walking slowly across the front, observing the trainees at a closer distance. He walked back and forth twice before stopping in front of Armin. This, as it seemed, came as a surprise to almost everyone. Even Commander Levi raised an eyebrow at the general’s choice, the first change in his expression Armin could recall since seeing the man.

Armin didn’t know what to of think being chosen to work under the highest ranking officer there but he sure as hell was nervous. Keeping his eyes low, Armin held his breath as the general faced him. He was taller up close, wider even. Armin felt slightly self-conscious in that moment. He never expected it to be easy, but he knew that working under the general probably meant the toughest training regimen possible.

“Your fist,” came a low voice that surprised Armin, “is too low. It goes here, right next to your collarbone.” The general demonstrated the correct form of the salute and Armin was forced to look up so as to not be disrespectful. 

He didn’t know if his cheeks pinkened even more because he was embarrassed to have gotten the salute wrong or because he was standing that close to the most gorgeous man he’d ever seen in his nineteen years of life. 

To prevent further embarrassment, Armin quickly raised his fist to next to his collarbone, stuttering out a quiet, “thank you, sir” to the general who gave him a small nod in return.

One by one, the officers chose their lines. Marco and Jean ended up in Captain Mikasa’s line and Connie ended up in Commander Levi’s line. After everyone was assigned a leader, the five lines and their leaders split off to the sectioned training grounds.

As Armin followed behind the general, he couldn’t help but notice how wide his shoulders were. Or that, despite wearing the same leather jacket, his back was clearly well muscled and strong. All he could do was drink in the sight of the man before him.

 _Yeah_ , Armin thought when he caught himself staring, _I’m definitely in trouble._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this update! I’m not making any strict promises about my upload schedules since I know things can happen but I’m aiming for daily uploads or, at the very least, every other day.
> 
> Look out for Chapter 3 tomorrow. Again, let me know what you think in the comments.
> 
> ~neo


	3. Chapter Three

Armin’s first day of training left him wobbling on his feet. As it was just day one, General Jaeger explained that they would go “light” with the day’s activities - just a series of drills to test the recruits’ current fitness levels. Armin, as one would expect, failed miserably and lagged behind everyone. In theory, the obstacle course set out for each recruit to run through was not an entirely difficult one. In fact, it was probably standard and the simplest training course at the military level. But, for Armin, it wasn’t anywhere near easy.

His lack of upper body strength, or strength in general, made it difficult for him to swing across on the bars or climb up the high wooden walls. Armin knew he could jump over the hurdles in the course but the ache in his legs from doing multiple sets of jumping squats between each obstacle made it difficult for him. He barely managed to get over one hurdle the first time and would have probably broken his face had he not broken his fall with his hands. The entire ordeal left him pink in the face from embarrassment to put it lightly. It also didn’t help that he was failing that miserably in front of General Jaeger who’s eyes seemed to drink in every detail of their movements as they worked. 

Armin did, however, give himself some credit for being a fast runner. His small, lithe body made him lighter and quicker on his feet than most trainees. If it weren’t for the fact that they’d all had to run through the obstacle course from start to finish multiple times, Armin was sure he might have finished the final ten laps around the large field in first place. He managed to finish fifth, only being beaten out by three of the female recruits and the blonde, hazel eyed Reiner Braun who was his age. It wasn’t a race, of course. However, Armin did want to show off his skills when it came to speed after doing so poorly at everything else. Unfortunately for him, the laps were the last “warm-down” exercises for the day and by then, his legs were essentially jelly. Still, he gave himself a pat on the back for managing to finish before fifteen of his batchmates. 

General Jaeger dismissed them after the laps, offering no words of praise to the recruits who did well nor, fortunately for Armin, harsh words to those who didn’t. After the mandatory salutes, he left them to find their way to the mess hall for a quick lunch. Armin had no time to find his roommates and chose to settle down at a table with some of the people in his batch. They all chatted amongst themselves except Armin who felt like an outsider having realized he had nothing in common with his New Eldian peers and Reiner, who brooded over his food in silence. It didn’t matter much to Armin, anyways. Lunch went by fairly quickly and it was soon time for their indoor classes.

Along with physical training, all members of the NEDF were required to know titan anatomy. Even though King Jaeger had destroyed the means by which Marley could create new titans as well as wiped out all the remaining pure titans in the Eldian Empire, there was still the mystery of how the first titan came to be. Multiple theories, including one that entailed a deal with the devil, floated around. It was said that King Jaeger wanted his people to be ready if they suddenly found themselves facing another titan crisis. In Armin’s opinion, however, he believed that the King knew more about the origins and nature of titans than anyone and that his allowance of all those rumours was a deliberate strategy. If no one knew how the first titan came to be, then no one could seek to recreate history.

Armin’s other classes included Intelligence and Strategy, Equipment and Weapons, Geography and First Aid. He was most excited for his Intelligence and Strategy classes - he did join the military with the intention of being on the intelligence team after all. However, he also looked forward to his Equipment and Weapons class a great deal. It was in that class that he would learn the mechanics of the omnidirectional mobility gear that they would one day use to propel themselves from building to building, from high point to high point. It was an especially useful tool when dealing with titans.

After his classes for the day were finished, the recruits had some time to themselves before dinner would be served in the mess hall. Not everyone did, but Armin chose to use that time to get a much needed shower and clean up. When he returned to his room, he was greeted by the sight of Connie flopped onto his bed at the top bunk and Marco sitting on the floor with his back pressed against the wall.

“Ugh, today was hell,” Connie groaned, his words muffled by the pillow his face was pressed into.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Marco said, chuckling.

“For you,” Connie whined, lifting his head to frown at Marco. “Our group was next to yours and I saw you guys out there. Are you and Jean freaking mutants or something? How do you make it look so easy? Armin,” Marco turned to look at the blond boy with pleading eyes. “ _Please_ tell me you had as tough a day as I did. I need a buddy to suffer with.”

Armin laughed as he sat down on his bed.

“Definitely. If it weren’t for the fact that I was in desperate need of a shower I’d be passed out right now. I almost broke my nose in front of General Jaeger,” Armin groaned, his cheeks reddening once more from the memory of it. This earned a laugh from the other two boys and Armin smiled. He’d never really had many friends growing up, not even after moving to New Eldia. All he had was his grandfather who raised him and the women in his district who would fawn over and baby him.

“Where’s Jean?” Armin asked, curious.

“Probably in the showers wanking off to Captain Mikasa,” Connie laughed. Armin giggled.

“No way!” he said. “He’s crushing on her?”

“So hard,” Marco replied with a laugh.

“That’s cute.”

Not soon after did the man in question return, freshly showered and dressed. Connie and Marco managed to drag themselves to the showers to get clean before dinner.

Dinner that night was steaming mashed potatoes, a thick fragrant stew and some vegetables. It wasn’t five star dining, but Armin had to admit he didn’t have much expectation for military food and was pleasantly surprised by how it turned out. He ate a table with his roommates and a couple of other recruits they met during the day. There was Sasha who was nice and had a healthy appetite and Krista who was well mannered and soft-spoken. Krista was also blond and blue eyed like Armin himself with only slightly longer hair, leading to the group joking that the two were long lost siblings.

Armin also took note of Reiner at one of the far right tables. He sat with three other trainees Armin didn’t recognize but they were all talking so he assumed they were friends. The two females with him both wore short haircuts but one was blond and the other, brunette. The third person was a slim guy with dark hair. The group wasn’t laughing or talking loudly amongst themselves like his own, but Armin noted that they appeared to be very comfortable with each other. At least then he knew that Reiner wasn’t always broody, he mused.

Dinner passed comfortably. His entire body ached and would ache again the next day, but Armin was content. He was finally on his journey to fulfilling his dream and it also was a plus that he’d had the opportunity to meet some nice people who he was sure he could call his friends. 

Ignoring his aches and pains, he opted to go get some fresh air instead of going straight to bed. It was already dark out, but the moon was full and illuminating. 

Plopping himself down on one of the benches outside, he closed his eyes and breathed in cool, crisp night air. He didn’t know how long he sat there, doing just that, reveling in the silence and stillness of the night. It wasn't until a bitingly cold breeze sent shivers through his body that he realized the temperature had dropped.

“Cold?” came a familiar voice, startling Armin out of his meditative state. 

With a slight jump, he opened his eyes to find General Jaeger standing above him. Even in the darkness of the night, Armin could still see the colour of the other man's eyes.

"Mind if I sit?"

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter down! I hope it was okay. 
> 
> I don't know if it feels a little slow but I'm doing my best to pace the story well and move it along nicely. I've written fics in the past that have felt a little rushed when I stepped back and looked at them and since this story is so special to me I don't want a repeat of that. 
> 
> Anyway, you can look forward to a one on one eremin convo next chapter :) 
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> ~neo


	4. Chapter Four

“General Jaeger!” Armin said as soon as he could find his words. He sprang to his feet and quickly saluted the man who chuckled softly.

“At ease, Armin,” he said while gesturing for him to sit back down. “You can relax. It’s after hours, after all.”

Armin nodded wordlessly and sat, scooting over to make room on the bench as a silent answer to the previous question. No, Armin didn’t mind if he sat. In fact, he welcomed it. The young general had intrigued him since the first moment he’d seen him that day after all. 

“Tough day, huh?” General Jaeger asked as he sat, though he already knew the answer.

“Incredibly,” Armin sighed, a soft smile on his lips. This earned a curious raise of the other man’s eyebrow.

“It was tough… but you’re smiling?” Jaeger inquired.

“Yeah, I’m weird huh?” Armin smiled, fingers toying with a loose thread on the hem of his shirt. “I’m not the best recruit in the bunch, probably the worst. I had a horrible time with the exercises today and if I’m being honest, my body’s probably going to be in pain for as long as it’ll take me to adjust to the training. In my current state? That’s probably gonna be a while. But still, I’m happy to be here. This is what I’ve been dreaming about since I was a kid.”

“Why is that?” General Jaeger asked, genuine curiosity colouring his tone as he observed the small blond next to him. During his tenure as a high ranking soldier, he’d come across many recruits that poured their heart out saying they were happy to serve their country and die for it. Only a few ever sounded like they meant it, and none of those few ever sounded as genuine as Armin did in that moment.

“I’m not sure if you know this already but I was born in Marley. My grandfather and I moved here when the war ended. I was only twelve at the time but I knew even then that what was going on in the continent wasn’t right. How were the Eldians devils when the Marleyans were the ones oppressing us and turning us into tools for their battles? I hated it and I wanted it to stop,” Armin declared, a frown etching its way onto his face.

“I told myself that when I grew up I would join the rebel groups if I had to, to help fight against Marley myself. But then King Jaeger ended the war and freed our people. When we came here I didn’t exactly give up on my dream. Back then I wanted to fight  _ for _ our freedom and peace. Now, I want to fight to defend it. So here I am and I feel like I’m finally doing what I’ve been destined to do.”

Armin glanced up at the general next to him, noting his pensive expression as he stared out at the dark compound. At that moment, Armin wondered if he was boring the man.

“Sorry, did I talk too much?” Armin asked, internally cursing himself. All he did was embarrass himself in front of the man for god’s sake!

“Not at all,” was the response he got back. “That’s very admirable of you. Very few people speak with such sincerity. If you ask me, the defence force needs more soldiers like you.”

Armin beamed.

“Thank you, General Jaeger!” 

They sat in surprisingly comfortable silence after that. For a few moments, Armin watched the man stare up at the full moon before closing his eyes. He supposed he must’ve been a similar sight to the general before he’d made his presence known. Only Armin didn’t think he bore quite the same exhausted expression on his face. He  _ was _ tired physically, that much was true. But he got the feeling the general’s fatigue wasn’t exactly physical.

“General Jaeger?”

“Mmh?”

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to but um…” Armin chewed on his bottom lip, afraid to ask but not being able to ignore his curiosity. “I can’t help but notice you’re the highest ranking official with us but… you also seem like the youngest. I don’t know, I just thought that made it obvious that you fought in the war seven years ago. So… did you?”

General Jaeger didn’t open his eyes.

“I did,” was his short response, just as Armin suspected.

“I don’t mean to pry but… are you okay?” he asked. 

That, it seemed, came as a shock to the man. He clearly wasn’t expecting that question.

“What do you mean?” he asked, expression confused as he opened his eyes to look at his subordinate.

“I was just wondering if you’re okay. The war was gruesome, I know. But I didn’t experience it the way you would have. You fought titans, you fought Marleyans and you fought the Eldians they controlled. I imagine it was a tough ordeal for anyone to go through… but you were young. Everything’s over now but are you okay?”

The general didn’t say anything for a moment, clearly contemplating the question. Armin guessed the answer was no. If he’d never stopped to think about how he felt all those years then Armin supposed he probably wasn’t okay. At least, not one hundred percent or anywhere close to it.

“You don’t have to answer…” Armin added when he felt the seconds drag on between them.

“You know,” the general began. “I think you’re the first person to ask me that question. I haven’t even asked myself if I was okay until just now. Truthfully? I don’t know. But then if I don’t know the answer is probably no isn’t it?”

Armin felt a twinge of sadness for the man and, by extension, everyone who fought directly in the war and still had mental scars from it.

“I was ten years old when I saw my mother get eaten by a titan,” Jaeger stated. Armin’s eyes widened, his stomach already churning at the gruesome image. 

“That was the day I vowed to do everything in my power to end the life of every last titan beyond the walls. I joined the scouts two years later with that goal in mind, only I didn’t know who the true enemy was at the time. None of us did.”

“General Jaeger, I’m so sorry. I-”

“Never apologise for something you didn’t do,” the general said, cutting him off. “It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t any of our faults.”

Armin sighed, the ache in his chest growing stronger. It was easy to view his superiors as people with power and authority and even easier to forget that they were just ordinary people before they joined the military, people like him who had lost a lot too.

“I’m sorry I just… didn’t know what else to say,” Armin mumbled. “You went through a lot.”

“And so did many others. That’s why the war  _ had _ to end. It was kill or be killed and many of us had to sacrifice bits and pieces of our humanity to get the job done.”

This revelation was chilling to Armin. Deep down _he knew_ that a lot of sacrifices went into ending the war, but the explicit expression of that sacrifice from the mouth of someone who'd directly taken part carried a heavier weight.

“Thank you,” Armin said sincerely, offering a small smile as he rested a hand on the general’s shoulder. He knew he was probably crossing boundaries he shouldn’t have but he felt overwhelming gratitude for the sacrifices that were made in the name of peace. “For helping to end the war. It probably doesn’t make up for much but… thank you.”

The general didn’t say anything then, casting his eyes away from Armin and standing up almost abruptly, letting Armin’s hand fall away from his shoulder.

“You should head back in,” he said. “It’ll be lights out soon and you have a tough day ahead tomorrow. Better get as much rest as you can.”

“Thank you, General Jaeger,” Armin nodded. “For sharing your story with me. Goodnight.”

The general said nothing to that, giving Armin a simple nod before he began to make his way back to his quarters. Armin watched him walk away, a strange combination of sadness and gratitude swirling inside him. The general was only about seven feet away when he stopped and turned back to Armin who still hadn’t moved.

“And Armin?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Call me Eren. When it’s just us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this was my favourite chapter to write so far and that's why I'm dropping it a bit early in the day (lol it's like 1 in the morning). Hope you guys enjoyed it and as always, your comments are welcomed!
> 
> ~neo


	5. Interlude: Eren

Eren laid awake that night, unable to sleep after his conversation with Armin.

Armin… the same boy with the sparkling blue eyes and sweet smile that had haunted his inherited memories for years.

For so long, he’d thought the boy was just a figment of the past… a memory from a previous shifter’s life. Obviously a loved one.

_ Stay with me… I love you… come back to me… you have to keep going… please! _

The image of the blond boy as he pleaded with an unknown individual, clearly a past shifter Eren thought, replayed itself in his mind multiple times over the years.

The memory had only flashed to him once, but he never forgot it and the intense emotions it made him feel. The expression of pure love shown in those deep blue eyes always intrigued Eren. He wondered during and after his time in battle if he would ever live to experience a love so strong, if any love at all.

Would someone love him that much?

Would  _ he _ love someone that much?

As such, the memory stayed with him, unable to forget the feeling he felt when he experienced it for the first time. Eren would be lying to himself if he didn’t admit that he sometimes found himself craving that feeling again. Only he wanted to experience it in the real world, not just from his memories. He supposed it was in human nature to seek out companionship. Only, was Eren even human anymore? Would anyone look beyond what he was to love him unconditionally?

There was Mikasa whom Eren knew loved him. He loved her too, though not in the way she would have preferred. Eren felt no romantic feelings towards the woman. She was like a sister to him and he would happily lay down his life if it meant protecting her. Unfortunately, that wasn’t exactly enough for her. One would think this would cause conflict between the two of them but it didn’t. They both understood their feelings for each other were different and in the end, they continued to make their friendship work, both accepting that a romantic relationship was not in the cards for them. They’d been through far too much together to throw away their friendship so easily.

In the end, no longer the same passionate boy he’d once been, Eren abandoned his silly fantasies of ever finding love and kept moving forward. Instead, he kept the memory of the mysterious boy alive in his heart. It was easy to pretend that those words were for him and he used them as fuel to keep going.

But then there Armin was, front and centre in the batch of new recruits, looking as ethereal as he did in Eren’s memories. Without even realizing it, Eren found himself gravitating towards the boy. When he’d had to choose the batch of recruits he would personally train, he knew right away he would choose Armin’s group. He made a show of inspecting each line but really, his mind was already made up. Then later he saw Armin wander outside to sit in the night air. Before he even knew what he was doing his feet had taken him to the bench where the recruit sat, and his mouth had already spoken of its own accord.

His conversation with Armin proved everything Eren had thought about the boy from his memories and more. He was genuine to a fault and more determined than anyone Eren knew. He was pureness personified and the embodiment of soul.

It confused Eren how he could feel all that from just one conversation, but he supposed in some strange way, he already knew Armin. Tucked away in some sealed off corner of his mind lived memories of Armin that Eren had once thought belonged to someone long dead.

But now he wondered more than ever, had those desperate words of ‘I love you’ been for him all along?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! This is just a bit of Eren's perspective I wanted to share before I post chapter 5 tomorrow. 
> 
> I've been writing mostly from Armin's point of view so far and I thought it was the perfect time to shed some light on what Eren's been thinking now that they've had their first real conversation. It also explains why Eren was so drawn to Armin from the beginning, knowing nothing about him. Like obviously Armin's cute but we can all probably tell by now that the Eren in this universe wouldn't be swayed by _just_ a pretty face, even if that pretty face is Armin.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed. See you tomorrow for chapter 5.
> 
> ~neo


	6. Chapter Five

Armin didn’t see Eren one on one for a while after that first night.

Training continued as usual and as one would expect, he didn’t miraculously get better overnight. He felt a huge burst of motivation though. More than anything, his talk with the general gave him extra energy to keep moving forward.

Besides during training where being formal was a must, Armin only ever got to see Eren in passing over the next three weeks. He was usually with one or more of the other higher ups, engaged in what looked to be serious conversations. When no one was watching, Armin would offer him a small smile during those scarce moments their eyes would meet and at night he would spend as much time on the bench outside hoping to share a conversation with the general once more. 

But Eren didn’t show up.

At first, Armin wondered if Eren might have just been trying to avoid him. However, the more he thought about it, the more he realised that Eren wasn’t the type to beat around the bush and avoid a person. If Eren truly didn’t want to see him, he would have said something to him about it. He surely wouldn’t have told Armin to drop formalities with him either so Armin concluded that the general was busy.

He was right. At the beginning of the fourth week of training, General Jaeger didn’t show up to train them. Instead, Captain Mikasa came and informed them that she would be taking over for the time being. Apparently the general had business to take care of within Wall Sina, the most inward of the three walls. Inside Wall Sina lived some of the wealthiest people on the island, including King Jaeger himself. Eren must’ve had business with the King. It also made sense that the King would request him personally if the rumour about the two men being related was true.

Four more weeks passed after that and Eren didn't return. By then, Armin had improved a lot. He’d built up enough strength during his seven weeks in the Trainee Corps so that he no longer lagged behind the others during their daily activities. While there was a natural ache in his limbs when he finished a rough day of training, he no longer felt as beaten and worn down as was common for him in those first couple of weeks. His indoor classes were also going well. Armin was a quick learner when it came to theory and he found he had no trouble on that end.

Working under Captain Mikasa was also interesting. Since she had her own set of trainees to mold, she had to combine both groups for the time being. She was tough and didn’t hesitate to deal out harsh criticisms when someone messed up. But Armin also thought she was fair. She would only be harsh when it came to messing up on the drills they should have mastered by a certain time. Armin, too, was on the receiving end of her criticism more often than not when she first took over. However, as he built up his strength and got better each week, the number of times he would get yelled at dwindled.

Additionally, for all that Captain Mikasa was tough on them, it amused Armin how much many of the male recruits still seemed to fawn over her, especially Jean. While he was as serious as Reiner during actual training, Armin couldn’t help noticing his heart eyes for the woman every time they saw her outside of training.

“Seriously, Jean. We should get you a bib. You’re drooling all over yourself,” Armin laughed as he watched Jean’s eyes follow the captain as she moved across the mess hall to take a seat with her peers. They didn’t always eat with the recruits, but they made it a point to do so at least twice a week.

“Shut up, Armin,” Jean said, blushing. “You’re one to talk.”

“Hey, I’m not the one crushing on the captain here,” Armin said, raising his hands in mock surrender.

“Yeah, right,” Jean huffed. “As if you’re not crushing hard on General Jaeger.”

Armin’s face went red in disbelief.

“What? That’s.. That’s ridiculous! Why would you even think that?” Armin spluttered, earning a laugh from the rest of the group. He looked at them - Sasha, Marco, Connie, Krista and Jean - as they did.

“What?” he asked again. “Why is everyone laughing?”

“Oh come on, Armin. Don’t seriously tell me that you don’t know about your crush on General Jaeger,” Connie said, wiping a fake tear from his eye as he finished laughing.

“I don’t h-”

“ _‘I can’t believe General Jaeger’s still not back. Do you think something bad’s happened why he hasn’t come back yet? I wonder if General Jaeger is okay?’_ ” Jean said in a mocking tone, clearly his way of showing that he was imitating Armin.

“I do not sound like that,” Armin huffed, face warm. “I just think General Jaeger’s cool. That doesn’t mean I have a crush on him.”

“Please, you’re as obsessed with him as Sasha is obsessed with food,” Krista giggled. “I mean, I don’t exactly blame you. He _is_ attractive.”

“Whatever,” Armin mumbled, stuffing a piece of bread into his mouth. He chewed roughly before swallowing, quickly changing the subject. “So… what are you guys gonna do on your break?”

It was a Friday night and the recruits were finally given a full week off. They’d been given rest days before but not for that long. They weren’t usually allowed to leave the compound as freely. This time, they would have a whole week of break where they were free to do whatever they wanted. Armin knew some people planned to go home for the weekend and others already decided to spend their free days either just resting or out in the nearby towns.

“Jean and I are going home for the weekend,” Marco declared. The two were best friends and grew up in the same neighbourhood.

“Same,” piped in Sasha and Connie.

“I’m hanging out with Ymir for a few days before going home,” Krista said, shrugging. Ymir was the brunette that was friends with Reiner. Krista had easily befriended her and they became close. “We don’t really have anything planned. Whatever comes to mind tomorrow I guess. What about you, Armin?”

“I’m gonna head home. It’s been a while since I’ve seen my grandfather,” he said. “But I might come back before the break is up and go into town. I’ve still haven’t gotten the chance to do that.”

“Nice. Well, I hope everyone has a good week. I heard when we come back we’re gonna start learning to use the ODM gear and I can’t wait!” Connie said.

As part of his nightly routine, Armin once again found himself sitting outside after dinner. The nights had gotten a bit colder so he’d made sure to put on a thicker sweater. Even though he always secretly hoped Eren would show up, Armin did in fact enjoy the time he spent alone at night. He enjoyed the quiet of it all and it gave him time to think. He would use the time to assess his performance that day, noting what he did well and what he had to improve on. That particular night, however, he could only think of his upcoming break.

Like he did to get to Wall Maria, Armin would have to walk for a whole day to get home. He could pay someone to give him a ride there but the distance alone made it an expensive trip. There was also the issue of finding his way back at the end of the week. Although he had pocket money that his grandfather had given him before he left home as well as his first monthly allowance from the NEDF, he didn’t want to spend it on himself just yet. He already decided to give half of his allowance to his grandfather and save the rest. Perhaps he would use some of his portion to pay for a comfortable journey back, but he knew he couldn’t afford to pay for both trips so he would walk the way there.

Despite the long walk he would have to take, Armin was excited to go home. He’d missed his grandfather a lot in the weeks he was away and felt bad that he was alone in the house. Armin knew they had nice neighbours who would be there for him, but he got the feeling the house would still be a little lonely for his grandfather when it came down to it. At least Armin would get to spend a week with him.

As Armin mapped out his trip in his head, he didn’t hear the sound of footsteps approaching from behind until the voice he’d been wanting to hear for so long spoke to him.

“I had a feeling I’d find you here,” Eren said, sitting next to Armin on the bench.

“Oh my god!” Armin jumped. “You have to stop doing that.”

Eren chuckled. “You’ve got to be more aware of your surroundings, Armin.”

“It’s not my fault you’re like a cat. Seriously, do you even know how to make a sound when you move?” Armin frowned. He noted that Eren was wearing a more formal uniform than usual. He must’ve just returned from Sina.

“Did you just get here, sir?” Armin asked.

“Please, Armin, it’s Eren,” he said. “And yes, I just got here.”

“Sorry, Eren,” Armin stated, testing the name out on his lips. It was strange saying his name out loud for the first time, but Armin liked it. “It’s just it’s been so long since I've seen you and I never actually got the chance to drop the formalities.”

“A month,” Eren noted.

“Yeah, a month,” Armin echoed, fully taking in Eren’s appearance. Besides his uniform and an even wearier expression on his face, he pretty much looked the same. Except…

“You let your hair grow out,” Armin smiled, noting the small bun pulled behind Eren’s head and the tendrils of longer hair that framed his face. “I like it.”

“Thanks.”

“You look really really tired though,” Armin noted. “It’s a good thing there’s no training for a week huh? Unless of course you still have work to do which would be...unfortunate I guess.”

Eren didn’t answer the indirect question, instead he asked one of his own.

“What are you doing during the break?”

“I’m going home for the week, why?” Armin asked.

“Got room for one more at home?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOP- they're going on vacation together already? I think you skipped a couple steps there Eren...
> 
> Lol, hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's a little longer than usual but I wanted to bring us up to this point before chapter 6 and what I have planned.
> 
> Also, I was thinking of writing some eremin one shots from time to time and perhaps taking requests. If you want me to write something for you you can request it here https://curiouscat.qa/NeoNal
> 
> Nothing's off limits as long as it doesn't contain any Rape/Non-con elements, will not be writing any of that. Also, make sure to tell me who the fic is for if you're requesting it anonymously. Example: "For Neo"
> 
> ~neo


	7. Chapter Six

Nervous but excited butterflies created frenzy in Armin’s stomach as he climbed onto the wagon drawn by two horses that Eren brought around the following morning.

He was still in disbelief that Eren had asked to go home with him and had no idea why he would want to spend his precious break with him in the first place. Not that Armin was complaining anyways. He was drawn to Eren like a moth to a flame and was glad for the opportunity to spend more time with him. Everything about Eren intrigued him and he wanted to know more about him.

“Ready to go?” Eren asked when Armin finally settled in.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” Armin smiled. “Just a heads up though, my grandpa will probably ask you a bunch of questions when we get there. Sorry in advance if he pries a little too much. He’ll also probably nag you, like _ a lot _ . He can’t help it.”

“It’s fine,” Eren said as they set off to Armin’s home. “Been awhile since I’ve been nagged.”

Armin remained quiet for a moment then, thinking about Eren. He’d already explained that he lost his mother but he hadn’t made mention of any other family members he had. It was likely that Eren hardly had any family left if at all. On that front, Armin could relate. He only ever had his grandfather. His grandmother had passed away before he was born and his parents disappeared from his life when he was just a baby. His grandfather never talked about them much and when Armin was younger, the only response his grandfather would give him when he asked about them was that they passed away from being sick. 

Despite being curious about his parents, he never really missed them. He couldn’t miss people he didn’t even remember. But he supposed it was entirely different for Eren who, at the very least, grew up with his mother.

“Do you miss her?” Armin asked after they exited the gates of Wall Maria. “Your mother…”

Armin knew it was a tough question and perhaps it was out of his place to ask, but he also wanted Eren to have a chance to talk about how he was feeling. Armin figured that wasn’t something he got to do often.

“I do,” Eren sighed. “A lot too. She was the perfect mom and wife. My dad and I really loved her and she loved us back just as much, probably even more.”

Armin smiled. “She sounds wonderful. And your dad? What was he like?”

“He was a doctor,” Eren said. “The best doctor in town actually. They would even call for him in Sina too. I thought he was so cool and I wanted to be just like him.”

“You wanted to be a doctor?” Armin asked, eyes twinkling.

“When I was like… eight, yeah. I used to wear his glasses and jackets around the house and pretended to treat invisible patients. I even demanded he and mom call me Dr. Jaeger when I was dressed up,” Eren laughed at the memory, a real genuine laugh that Armin realized he was hearing for the first time. Besides his usual chuckle, Eren never actually laughed.

Armin felt his chest tighten pleasantly and found himself laughing too.

“Dr. Jaeger,” Armin grinned. “It has a nice ring to it, although I personally prefer General Jaeger.”

“Got a thing for generals?” Eren asked, tone teasing. Armin blushed instantly and Eren laughed again. “I did not know someone’s face could get that red so fast.”

“Ha ha, very funny,” Armin mumbled, covering his cheeks. Despite his embarrassed blush, however, he smiled. He was happy that Eren was laughing. This was the most relaxed he'd ever seen the man look.

The rest of their journey to Armin’s house passed comfortably. Armin didn’t peg Eren to be the talkative type but he realized that when Eren was relaxed, he was a great conversational partner. Eren had a way with words and was quite engaging when talking about a topic that interested him. Furthermore, when Armin was talking about something he was passionate about like his obsession with books, Eren would listen intently and ask questions, genuinely interested in hearing what he had to say.

That Eren was so different from the Eren he knew from the Trainee Corps. He had the same aura of power surrounding him and the same, deep eyes that seemed to hold the knowledge of a thousand years in them. But in his relaxed state he was funny, and teasing and passionate and charming and... Armin could probably go on. Armin didn’t know why Eren chose to show that side of himself to him but he was happy nonetheless.

Thanks to Eren’s horse-drawn wagon, it took them only four hours to reach Armin’s district. Eren also explained that he would one day be able to travel by train to see his grandfather and go virtually anywhere on the island. The government was already making preparations to catch up to the rest of the world when it came to infrastructure and technology.

Upon arriving at his quaint little house, Armin smiled when he saw his neighbour Mrs. Grice come out of her house to see who had arrived.

“Is that Armin?” she asked, smiling. Eren and Armin both get down from the carriage and Armin smiled as he approached her.

“Hi, Mrs. Grice. How’s the family?” Armin asked, giving her a quick hug.

“Everyone’s good. Falco’s been asking for you a lot. He’ll be glad to know you’re back. Look at you!” she grinned, cupping his cheeks and squeezing them. “I thought you’d be all grown up by now but you’re still as cute as a button.”

“Mrs. Grice!” Armin whined, face reddening. “I’m not a kid anymore, can you please stop squeezing my cheeks?”

“Never,” she cooed, booping his nose before taking note of Eren. “Who’s this?”

“Ah, this is Eren,” Armin introduced him. “He’s my uh… friend?”

“General Eren Jaeger, ma’am,” Eren introduced himself, holding out his hand for her to shake. “Nice to meet you.”

“A general? Wow,” Mrs. Grice grinned while giving Armin a knowing look. “Nice to meet you too. Hope Armin's been a good recruit."

"He's holding own," Eren nodded.

"That's great! Anyway, I won’t keep you two too long. You’re probably tired from your trip and dying to see your old man. He’s not in though, I’m afraid. He and Karl went to help out over in the Harris District after what happened.”

“Huh? What happened in the Harris District?” Armin asked.

“Oh it was terrible! Two earthquakes two days in a row! The first one wasn’t so bad but the second one did a bit of damage,” Mrs. Grice explained. “They went to carry over some supplies.”

Eren remained silent, a pensive expression on his face.

“That’s horrible,” Armin said. “I hope the damages weren’t too severe. How long do you think they’ll take to come back?” 

“They should be back in a day or two.”

That was unfortunate, Armin thought. He’d been really looking forward to seeing his grandfather but at least there was still time. 

After tying up the horses and securing the wagon, the two of them finally went inside. It was small but cozy and Armin was glad to be home. It wasn’t until he plopped down on the couch with Eren next to him, however, that he realised the two of them were completely alone and would be until his grandfather returned.

Suddenly feeling awkward, Armin offered to get them some water and something to eat since they were on the road all morning. He made two sandwiches and brought them out first before going back to get the water, all while lost in thought.

Why was he feeling nervous? Why was he blushing so much? Being alone with Eren shouldn’t be a big deal but… why did it feel like it was? Was Jean right? Did he actually have a crush on Eren?

He was so distracted by his thoughts that he didn’t even see that he'd reached edge of the couch and bumped his knees right into it. He managed to right himself quickly so he didn’t fall or drop the cups he held but, to his horror, most of their contents went flying out onto the couch and onto Eren’s shirt.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry,” Armin exclaimed, quickly setting the glasses down. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“It’s fine, Armin. Really,” Eren chuckled at Armin's panicked expression. “It’s just water, it’ll dry. I’ll have to change out of this though.”

Before Armin could say anything else, he watched with wide eyes as Eren began to unbutton his wet shirt. Revealing perfect washboard abs and golden skin, Armin couldn’t stop himself from looking or stop the blush that spread all the way to his neck.

_ Shit.... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Deep breaths, Armin! Deep breaths!
> 
> Excited to say I officially have everything for this story planned out. I can't wait for you guys to see it and everything that'll eventually happen. Hope I do my ideas justice!
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> ~neo


	8. Chapter Seven

Try as he did, Armin couldn’t look away from Eren as he removed his shirt fully and made no move to get a new one from his luggage.

“Sorry, I’ll just… um, I’ll hang this outside,” Armin said, setting down the cups and quickly grabbing Eren’s wet shirt. He made his way outside in an instant and took a deep breath to calm himself down. He collected himself full, which took a few minutes, then hung up the shirt and left it to dry. Thankfully it was just water and it would dry without leaving a stain.

When Armin returned to Eren, he noted that the once empty cups were full again and Eren had started eating his sandwich, thankfully wearing another shirt. 

Armin sighed as he sat and picked up his own sandwich, determined to act natural. “I’m not usually so clumsy,” he explained.

“I don’t mind. It’s a little bit… what did Mrs. Grice say? ‘ _ Cute as a button’ _ ?” Eren laughed.

“You just love teasing me don’t you?” Armin smiled, shaking his head. 

“Perhaps,” he replied.

“Did you really mean what you said out there by the way?” Armin asked.

“About what?”

“When you said I held my own? I know I wasn’t that good when I first started and even though I’ve improved, it was when you were gone…”

“Are you asking me if I lied to Mrs. Grice to be nice?” Eren asked.

“I...yes,” Armin couldn’t lie. “I suppose so.” Armin considered himself to be a realistic person. He knew his current level of skill and the work it took to get there. He supposed it was his desire to look good in front of Eren that made him feel a twinge of disappointment at the thought of Eren lying just to be nice.

“Armin…” Eren said softly, sighing. “I meant what I said.”

Armin looked up, surprised. “Really?”

“Of course. You’re quick on your feet and have good reflexes, good instincts. I noticed it the very first day of training. You kept stumbling and falling but you got back up and bounced back. I can guarantee you if it was anyone else, they'd have ended the day with a lot more cuts and bruises than you did. What you lack in strength you make up for in brains and agility. That’s quite useful if you ask me. We don’t just need strong soldiers, we need smart ones too. And, according to Mikasa, you’ve done well on improving your strength while I was gone.”

Armin smiled. He didn’t know Eren thought that highly of him.

“Thanks, Eren. It means a lot to hear that… Are you and Captain Mikasa close?” he asked, genuinely curious.

“We grew up together, yes.” Eren explained. “And before you ask, no we’re not secretly married. I know there are rumours. Mikasa is my best friend, she’s practically my sister. We grew up together, joined the Survey Corps together and even fought in the war together. If it wasn’t for her, I probably would’ve gone off the rails a long time ago.”

Arimin’s flash of jealousy died almost instantly, relieved Eren didn’t see her that way. 

“Wow… well I’m glad you had her all this time then,” Armin smiled, genuinely meaning what he said. He immediately felt guilty for being jealous of Eren’s only family and incredibly grateful she’d been by his side for so long. Speaking of family and rumours though, Armin had to ask.

“What about the other rumour, that you’re related to the king? Is it true?”

Eren seemed to think for a moment before choosing his next words carefully.

“That's a simpler way to put it,” he mused. “Although I’d much rather say we’re more like two sides of the same coin.”

“Hmm… I have no idea what that means,” Armin laughed. 

“You’ll find out one day I’m sure.”

With that, Armin decided not to pry. If Eren said he would find out one day, he'd wait for that day to come. He wanted to know every and anything he could about Eren but he wasn't obsessed with that desire. He wanted to learn about him naturally.

As it always seemed to be when the two were together, their conversation flowed easily and even better now that the two were bantering with each other. Armin even ended up showing Eren his small collection books that he’d built up over the years, his most valued personal items.

However, despite it being early afternoon by that point, Armin could tell Eren was tired. His work while he was away must have been pretty serious, Armin guessed.

“You should sleep,” he said. “Seriously, you look dead on your feet. What kind of work did they even have you doing out in Sina?”

“Nothing unusual,” Eren sighed, rubbing his eyes.

“Yeah… this won’t do. You came here for a break with me right? Well, you should actually get some rest while you’re here,” Armin demanded. “You can use my room.”

“You sure?”

“Of course, Eren. It’s not like I’ll be bored while you sleep. I have my books, remember?” Armin smiled, holding up one of the smaller novels.

“Read to me.”

“What?” Armin asked, taken aback by the question.

“Just until I fall asleep,” Eren said.

Armin obliged. It was an odd request, sure, but it was Eren asking. And Armin couldn’t say no to Eren it seemed.

That was how he found himself sitting cross-legged next to Eren who laid on his side on Armin’s small bed, facing him. It was somewhat of a tight squeeze but they made it work. Armin read from the novel quietly as Eren watched and listened. Armin thought he would be a nervous wreck in light of his crush on Eren. Instead, he found himself feeling comfortable. He enjoyed reading and he enjoyed being in Eren’s presence.

A sense of calm washed over him as he continued to narrate the fictional tale, stopping only when he heard Eren’s breathing even out. He looked down and saw that the young general’s eyes were closed and his face was serene as he slept.

Armin smiled, unable to help himself as he reached down to brush the loose tendrils of dark hair out of his face. He let his hand stray to Eren’s cheek for a few moments before sighing softly and removing his hand. Closing the book, he moved to stand up only to be stopped by a large, surprisingly soft hand gripping his wrist.

Shocked, he looked down to see that Eren had grabbed him. His eyes were still closed and Armin wondered if he was awake the whole time or simply acting out while still asleep.

“Stay…” Eren said softly as his grip loosened on Armin’s wrist, dragging his hand down to hold Armin’s hand instead. “Please…”

“Okay,” Armin responded, his voice barely audible as he tried to ignore the sudden pounding in his chest. Without letting go of Eren’s hand, Armin adjusted himself to lie down on his side facing Eren.

“Thank you, Armin,” Eren murmured before his breathing evened out again.

Armin didn’t know how long it took him to succumb to his own sleep, but the soft sounds of both their breathing and the otherwise quietness of the room eventually lulled him to sleep too, hand still firmly clasped in Eren’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everyone!
> 
> Skipped updating yesterday because I spent the day with the family and today's update was late because I went and got my hair and nails done. Can I just say, typing with acrylics is a bitch lol.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it and as always thank you for reading. I do hope this year is great for everyone. Wishing you all good luck for 2021!
> 
> ~neo


	9. Chapter Eight

It was early evening when Armin woke up to an empty bed and the smell of food permeating the air. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he wandered out into the kitchen to find Eren standing over a pot of something that smelled delicious.

“How long have I been asleep?” Armin asked, stretching.

Eren turned to look back at him briefly. “A few hours.”

“Why didn’t you wake me?” Armin wondered.

“You looked peaceful. Didn’t want to wake you,” Eren shrugged. “The soup’s almost done. I’m not much of a cook but I at least know this recipe’s decent.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Armin smiled as he made himself useful by grabbing some bowls and spoons. He set the table and sat down, resting his head in his hand as he watched Eren. Despite having slept for a shorter time than Armin, Eren looked rested which he was happy about.

When the soup was finished, the two ate dinner comfortably. It wasn’t anything revolutionary, but Armin admitted that it was good. As it was nearly night, the obvious course of action was to stay in for the rest of the day. Armin promised Eren to show him around the next day when they would have more time. Following dinner, they both took turns washing up, Armin choosing to go first.

Neither of them spoke of the fact that they had slept next to each other earlier in the day and it wasn’t until Armin was clean and dressed in his sleepwear that he realized they hadn’t actually sorted out their sleeping arrangements. Plopping himself onto his bed for the time being, he gave it some thought. Eren was much too tall to sleep on the couch, not that Armin would feel good about letting him sleep there, so that option was off the table. He could always sleep in his grandfather’s room for the night while Eren slept in his but his grandfather would return soon and he’d have to find somewhere else. That left the couch for Armin, though he’d rather sleep in his own bed.

He, however, wasn’t given the chance to make up his mind about sleeping on the couch because as soon as Eren returned, freshly cleaned and in his own pajamas, he plopped right down next to Armin on his bed.

“What do you usually do on nights like this?” Eren asked, turning onto his back and staring up at the ceiling.

Guess they were roommates then.

“I usually read. Or if there’s anything my grandfather needs help with I’ll help him,” Armin said as he turned onto his side to face the general. “What about you?”

“This and that. I usually have a lot of work to take care of.”

“That sucks,” Armin mumbled. “Sounds like you have no time to yourself. Is that why you joined me?” Armin asked.

“Partly. I needed the break to get away from it all,” Eren explained. “Technically I still have work to do but one week away isn’t going to kill anyone.”

“Won’t you get in trouble for that?” Armin wondered. Eren didn’t seem like the type to do what he wanted but he supposed he still had a lot to learn about him.

“Not quite. I guess I’m allowed to take my own breaks. It’s not something I do often… or have ever done if I’m being honest.”

Now that shocked Armin.

“You mean this is your first vacation? I understand before the war ended but you haven’t been on not even one vacation since then? You’ve just been working nonstop for seven years?” he asked, disbelief evident in his tone and the expression on his face. “You know you’re insane right?”

Eren laughed then, like he had earlier in the day.

“You won’t believe how many times I’ve been told that,” he managed to say when he was done laughing.

“Well, I’m going to keep telling you that until you change your ways,” Armin grumbled. “That’s not good for you, Eren.”

“I know, I know,” Eren sighed. “But I’m here now right?”

Armin huffed but didn’t say anything further. One week in seven years was barely anything but he supposed it was better than nothing.

Having already slept during the day, neither of them were quite ready to go to bed when it got late. Instead, they divided their time between talking and reading. Armin got to learn more about Eren’s childhood and he told stories of his life when he first moved to New Eldia. He eventually gave Eren the novel he had read to him earlier, surprised that the older man had taken an interest in the story despite being half asleep when he was reading it to him. He grabbed another book for himself and the two descended into silence as they lost themselves in their stories. Not surprisingly, Eren fell asleep first sometime late in the night, or perhaps very early in the morning, and Armin decided to follow suit after putting away the books and turning out the lights.

Armin’s grandfather didn’t return until three days later. By then, Armin and Eren had developed somewhat of a routine. Armin would wake up with his face pressed against Eren’s chest or back, an arm or a leg - or both - thrown over Eren (sometimes the other way around) or his personal favourite, his back completely pressed against Eren’s front as the other held onto him from behind. No matter how far away from each other they were when they fell asleep, the two always seemed to wake up touching each other. The realization never failed to make Armin blush. Eren also seemed comfortable with their current setup so he just let it happen, despite his crush that no longer felt as trivial as a crush.

Armin _liked_ Eren. More and more each day he felt himself fall for the man and that realization both excited and terrified him. He was happy to be so close to Eren all the time but he was also confused. Their closeness wasn’t typical for friends. Not even Marco and Jean who’d practically been best friends since birth cuddled the way he and Eren did or even slept in the same bed. He knew their relationship was something beyond just friends and he was itching to know exactly what it was.

However, a small part of Armin’s brain was scared to ask Eren what he thought. He was scared that if he asked and Eren didn’t feel the same way, everything between them would crumble and he would lose Eren in an instant. So, Armin didn’t ask. Instead, they carried on as usual.

After waking up together, they would have breakfast and decide the activities for the day. On the second day of being home, Armin brought Eren to the food market. They got groceries for the house and used that opportunity to have Eren try some of the local cuisine influenced by the townspeople's history of living in Marley. Eren’s favourite dish was a sweet fried dough covered in honey or fruit syrup. He liked it so much he even went as far as asking for the recipe which he ended up paying the vendor for, not that he even seemed to mind.

Following whatever activity they planned for the day, they would return home by early afternoon and spend the rest of the day indoors. Since Eren wasn’t much of a cook, Armin took care of their lunch and dinner arrangements for the most part. Otherwise, Mrs. Grice would invite them over to eat at her house. Eren got to meet twelve year old Falco too, who was like a little brother to Armin. The boy took an instant liking to Eren which was uncharacteristic of his usual guarded nature. He was especially interested in hearing about Eren’s job as a general.

After dinner they would unwind by talking or just reading in silence, mostly in Armin’s room but sometimes they would sit out in the living room too. All in all, Armin thought it was a rather simple routine but still one he enjoyed.

Besides his worry about his strange relationship with Eren, Armin also worried about whether he would see his grandfather before his break was up. Thankfully, the old man returned three days after their arrival.

Armin was in the middle of making lunch at the time when he heard the front door open. Eren had taken the horses out to stretch their legs.

“You’re back already?” Armin yelled from the kitchen, not expecting Eren to return so soon.

“What do you mean already?” came the familiar voice of the man who raised him.

“Grandpa!” Armin shouted excited, dropping what he was doing and running out to greet the man. “Finally! I was getting worried.”

“How long have you been back?” Grandpa Arlert asked as he accepted Armin’s hug.

“Four days now. I have to go back by Sunday though,” Armin sighed. “How were things in Harris? I heard about the earthquakes.”

“Not so bad,” his grandfather said. “At least, not as bad as the other towns I’ve been hearing about.”

“Other towns got earthquakes too?” he asked. 

“A couple. Byrone and Jura, maybe another one. Didn’t see for myself so I don’t know but there’s talk,” Armin’s grandfather said as he sat down. “Heard it happened the same way as out in Harris. Two quakes two days in a row. That’s some funny business if you ask me, but who am I to question nature?”

That _was_ weird, Armin thought. That many earthquakes with similar patterns? That seemed almost impossible and yet, it apparently happened. He suddenly felt uneasy but there was nothing he could do about it. Earthquakes were natural disasters after all. If one decided to come, it would come and there was nothing to do but hope it didn’t cause too much damage.

“You hungry?” Armin asked. “I was just making lunch.”

“I’m starving. What ya making?”

“Just some sandwiches. I should probably tell you, I kind of brought home a guest,” Armin informed him.

As if on queue, Eren bursted through the front door, stopping short when he notices the old man sitting in the living room.

“Right on time. Grandpa, this is Eren. Eren, this is my grandpa,” Armin introduced them with a smile.

“Eren Jaeger, sir. Pleasure to finally meet you,” Eren said, ever polite as he walked into the house and held his hand out for the other man to shake.

Grandpa Arlert eyed him cautiously as he stood to shake his hand.

“Aren’t you a little too old to just be joining the force boy?” he asked Eren and Armin laughed.

“He’s not a trainee, Grandpa,” Armin said. “He’s a general.”

“Well I’ll be damned. You seem young for a general,” his grandfather said, sitting back down. “How old are you?”

“Twenty six, sir,” Eren said. It occurred to Armin then that he’d never asked Eren’s age before. He assumed he was in his twenties but he’d never thought about it specifically. He supposed he could add their age gap to his list of worries.

“You fought in the war?” Arlert asked him.

“Yes sir,” Eren answered. That seemed to interest the old man immediately as he followed up with an onslaught of questions, all of which Eren answered respectfully. 

Armin rolled his eyes fondly before returning to the kitchen. He knew his grandfather would badger Eren with questions and pay no attention to him so he opted to finish making their lunch.

His grandfather took a liking to Eren after that, much like the other people in his life like Mrs. Grice and Falco. Eren fit perfectly into his simple little world so quickly and so seamlessly that Armin was losing his mind at the possibility of his fears coming true. It was eating at him so much so that by the time their last night rolled around, Armin decided to rip the Band-Aid off and confront Eren about it before they would return to the training grounds. Things would be different when they returned and he wanted to know where they stood before then.

As the two lay side by side as usual, books in hand, Armin tried hard to think of a way to bring up the topic. Luckily for him, Eren noticed his uneasiness and asked him about it.

“Armin, what’s wrong? You’re fidgeting and you’ve been staring at the same page for fifteen minutes,” Eren asked, sitting up on the bed. 

Armin sighed, sitting up as well to face him. Positioning himself so that he was sitting cross-legged, he gestured for Eren to do the same.

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about,” Armin mumbled. “But I’m scared to even ask.”

“You know you can ask me anything right?” Eren said softly. “What is it?”

“It’s just… forgive me if I’m reading too much into things but we’ve gotten so close so fast and it’s scaring the hell out of me because I…” Armin looked down at his lap as he fiddled with his fingers nervously.

Long fingers raised his chin so that blue eyes met green ones and he felt his heart thump in his chest.

“Tell me, Armin,” Eren said softly. “Why are you scared?”

Armin swallowed, his heartbeat thumping in his ear as he stared into Eren’s concerned eyes.

“Because… Because I like you,” he blurted out quickly.

Time seemed to stop then, the two of them frozen at Armin’s revelation. Armin’s nails dug into the palm of his hands as he squeezed them into fists, awaiting a response from Eren who just stared at him. 

After a moment, with no response, Armin spoke again or rather, rambled nervously.

“I know it’s crazy and I know we haven’t known each other for long but I felt like I had to say it before we go back. I’m probably being ridiculous since you’re older and obviously more experienced and I don’t even know if you like guys bu-”

Armin’s rambling was cut short when he felt a pair of soft lips press against his, silencing him with a tender kiss.

_Oh._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Apologies for the lack of updates this past week. Wrote a one shot and then took a few days off writing for personal reasons.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this slightly longer update! Can I just say finally?!?!!! Ugh. Been waiting for these two to kiss since chapter 2 byyeeee 
> 
> ~neo


	10. Chapter Nine

Armin’s eyes drooped close as he immediately melted into the kiss. The fluttering feeling he only ever experienced in Eren’s presence seemed to intensify as he allowed the other man’s soft, plush lips to guide his inexperienced ones. In that moment, nothing else existed and nothing else mattered except Eren.

The seconds ticked by but Armin didn’t want the kiss to end, nearly chasing his lips when the other finally pulled away to allow them to catch their breaths. Eyes opening slowly, Armin felt the heat spread from his stomach to his cheeks as he caught sight of Eren’s fond smile.

“So you… feel the same way?” Armin asked, voice coming out in almost a whisper though that wasn’t exactly intentional. He supposed it was because the atmosphere around them felt delicate.

Eren didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he reached out to cup Armin’s cheek, brushing his thumb softly over the other’s cheekbone.

“I didn’t realize it until recently… but I’ve been waiting years to meet you, Armin Arlert,” Eren said quietly, staring into his eyes with an expression Armin couldn’t put into words but still made his heart soar. With that, Eren captured his lips into a kiss once more only this one was entirely different.

Unlike the first kiss that was soft and tentative, this one was passionate and fervent. Their lips clashed deliciously as they drank each other in, unable to get enough. Eventually, he let Eren coax his mouth open to deepen the kiss, only ever separating for just long enough to get some air before diving in again. Armin felt like he was on cloud nine, even as he felt himself wanting more and more from Eren.

The pair tried to reposition themselves on the bed without breaking their kiss, clambering so that Eren sat with his back against the headboard, hands curled around Armin’s hips who had moved to straddle his lap, his own hands pressed firmly against Eren’s chest. In their haste, they ended up knocking one of the books they were reading off the bed. Armin jumped slightly at the loud thud it made, pulling away quickly and scrambling off of Eren’s lap thinking his grandfather had caught them.

“Oh my god,” Armin said breathlessly, relief colouring his tone as his heart pumped wildly in his chest both from the kiss and his moment of panic.

Eren erupted in a fit of laughter then at the look on Armin’s face. Embarrassed, Armin groaned and shoved his face into his pillow.

“Shut up!” he whined, raising his head to frown at Eren when he didn’t stop laughing. 

“Sorry… You’re just too cute,” Eren managed to get out between laughs.

Armin huffed but said nothing as Eren adjusted himself to lie down once again, immediately pressing himself to Eren’s side when he did. Armin couldn’t help but grin. They’d done it before but never when they were awake, only seeking each other out when they slept. But now that he finally got his feelings out and Eren clearly felt the same way, he decided he would no longer be shy or limit himself. He liked Eren and Eren seemed to like him back so cuddling while they were both awake shouldn’t be a strange concept.

“What’s gonna happen now?” Armin asked, absentmindedly playing with a button on Eren’s shirt.

“What do you mean?” Eren asked.

“You know, with us… We have to go back tomorrow and I guess I’m just wondering how we’ll proceed with... this... going forward. Will we be open with it?  _ Can _ we be open with it? Should we keep it a secret?” he wondered.

“Hmm,” Eren hummed, thinking. “What will be more comfortable for you?” he asked eventually.

Armin thought it through, though he hadn’t expected to be asked that.

“I don’t know. I don’t care what we do as long as this…  _ us _ … will be a thing. But I also don’t want you to get accused of giving me special treatment or for me to get accused of receiving it. You’re my superior after all. Maybe we  _ should _ keep it under wraps for a while.”

“I suppose that’s the best option for now,” Eren agreed.

Truthfully, Armin wanted nothing more than to scream at the top of his lungs that Eren was his but their difference in rank would easily become an issue amongst the other trainees and, no doubt, the other higher ups too. Luckily the people of New Eldia weren’t prone to homophobic tendencies as was common in Marley, so Armin wasn’t worried about the reaction to his relationship with another man on that front. He supposed living centuries in fear of being wiped out by titans helped shape their more accepting culture.

As they continued to lay there, Armin allowed his mind to wander. He hadn’t expected Eren to kiss him. In fact, he was mentally preparing for the worst. But now that Eren had, in his own way, declared his romantic interest in Armin too, the latter was elated at the possibilities that lay before them. Eren was charming and funny and strong and caring and just about everything good Armin could want in a man. Though he might have been moving a bit too fast on his own, the thought of a future with Eren already made his heart contract in his chest. He’d never been in a relationship before but he knew right away he was willing to lay himself, his feelings and his entire being bare for Eren. That realization both excited and terrified him.

“What are you thinking?” Eren asked, pulling him from his thoughts.

“Us,” he replied quietly. “I never imagined you would feel the same way about me. I guess I’m just happy you do, and a little bit scared too. I’ve never done this before, any of this.”

Armin felt and heard Eren sigh softly before he felt a soft kiss press to his forehead.

“I’m not going to promise you that I’ll never hurt you or that everything will be smooth sailing between us,” Eren began. “I  _ can’t _ . I’m a complicated man, Armin. I have things I still need to work out for myself that sometimes make me closed off and distant… There are also parts of me that make me not a good person… not good enough for you. But I can promise you this, I’ll try my hardest to do right by you every step of the way. I’ve never felt the way I felt about anyone the way I’ve felt about you and despite my flaws, I want nothing more than to keep you close for as long as you want me. That's probably me being selfish but I want this. I guess on that end I’m terrified too.”

As Armin listened to him speak, he could practically feel his feelings from Eren grow. With a soft smile, he eased up to press a short, soft kiss to Eren’s lips. As he spoke his next words, he realized that he meant them wholeheartedly.

“I’ll always want you, Eren.”

After their heart to heart, they spend the rest of the night wrapped in each other’s arms. They would have to leave the next day since it was the final day of the break. Armin’s original plan of returning a few days early to explore the towns within the walls had obviously been scrapped. However, he wouldn’t have changed anything about the trip.

Since they had Eren’s horses and wagon, they decided to wait until the afternoon to leave so that Armin could spend a few more hours with his grandfather. By then, they’d already said their goodbyes to Falco and Mrs. Grice who Armin noted pulled Eren aside to say something to him in private.

“Take care of yourself, grandpa,” Armin said, giving him a tight hug. “I’ll miss you.”

“Oh don’t go soft on me now, boy,” Armin’s grandfather chuckled, patting his back. “Don’t worry about me, just go out there and continue to do your best.”

“I will,” Armin smiled, pulling away.

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Arlert,” Eren said.

“You too, Eren. Take care of Armin for me, will you?” he replied, clapping him on the shoulder with a fatherly smile.

“I will, sir,” Eren smiled back.

“Now you two better get going so you can get back before sunset.”

Armin nodded and climbed up on the front of the wagon, Eren following suit.

“I’ll see you on my next break,” Armin told him with a small wave before turning to Eren. “Ready?”

“Mmhm,” Eren nodded, taking the reins of the horses. With that, the two of them set off, leaving their happy little bubble behind.

They reach the training camp by early evening which Armin was grateful for. He was starving and it would almost be time for supper.

“Here we are,” Eren said as the horses trotted through the gates. He would have to take them back to the stables and put away the wagon so Armin, naturally, would have to get off first. Fortunately for them, there was no one around to see them at that moment.

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then?” Armin said, or rather asked.

“Tomorrow,” Eren agreed, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. Armin smiled as he climbed down from the wagon, taking with him his parcel of personal items. He’d brought back a few more articles of clothing and some of his books.

Jean, Marco and Connie were already in the room when he returned and so was Sasha and Krista who were perched on his bed chatting with the guys.

“Hey guys,” Armin smiled at them as he entered. “Good break?”

“Oy, Jean. Pay up,” Connie grinned, causing Armin to raise his eyebrows.

“These idiots bet on whether or not you’d actually come back,” Sasha explained, rolling her eyes. “I told them it was stupid but boys will be boys I guess.”

“For the record, I knew you would come back,” Connie said proudly. Armin rolled his eyes fondly. Even though it was only a week, he did miss the camaraderie he’d gotten so used to and came to enjoy.

“Hey, I didn’t say he wouldn’t come back. I just said there was a  _ possibility _ ,” Jean grumbled as he fished for money in his pockets. 

“Idiots,” Armin, laughed, dropping his parcel on the floor next to his bed.

“You look good,” Krista commented as she scooted over, graciously giving him room on his own bed to sit down. “I take it your break went well.”

“Yup,” Armin smiled. “Better than I expected, actually. What about you guys?” He'd hoped to keep _just_ how much he enjoyed his break from his friends but Krista apparently saw through his act.

“Nuh uh,” Krista said, pointing her finger at him and squinting her eyes. “No questions from you until I’m done. You look a little  _ too _ happy. What _ exactly _ happened on your break?”

Five pairs of eyes watched him keenly, awaiting an answer. The attention made his cheeks go pink. 

“I just rested is all,” Armin said. Technically, that wasn’t a lie. It wasn’t the whole truth but it was better than lying to his friends. It wasn’t that he couldn’t trust them with his secret but he and Eren had agreed to keep their relationship hidden for the time being and he didn’t want to go back on that. Also, said relationship was sparkling new. He wanted there to be more development before he went and told them anything.

“And?” Krista demanded.

“And nothing… I just had a really relaxing break, that’s all,” Armin insisted. “Really, guys. I just rested.”

Krista decided not to press further, thankfully for Armin, though she did give him a stern warning. 

“Armin Arlert you better not be lying to me,” she told him.

“I'm not. Now tell me about you guys,” he said dismissively and allowed the conversation to change.

They were all pretty excited for the next day’s training for once. It was time for them to begin learning how to use the ODM gear. Connie was especially excited, explaining how cool it was just watching other soldiers use it and how much more epic it would be to actually use the gear himself.  In fact, it was all he could gush about all throughout supper and before bed. He was still buzzing with excitement even the next morning as the group began making their way from the dormitory building to their specific training grounds. Leaving Jean and Marco to deal with Connie’s ramblings, Armin allowed his mind to wander to Eren.

After spending an entire week with him  _ and  _ sleeping next to him, it felt weird to not wake up by his side. Moreover, he couldn’t wait to see him again during the day and wondered if they could sneak away to spend time with each other at some point during the evening. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed the others had stopped as soon as they exited the building. It was only when he bumped into Marco’s shoulder did he realize they were standing still and saluting.

Confused, Armin looked around to find Captain Mikasa standing outside, leaning against the wall with a bored expression that changed the moment she saw him.

“Oy, Armin,” she said, ignoring the others. “We need to talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "we need to talk" OOP! Armin might be in trouble... or is he?
> 
> Lol, hope you enjoyed this chapter again. Had fun writing it, especially with what's to come in mind.
> 
> ~neo


	11. Chapter Ten

“Is something wrong?” Armin asked when they found themselves a secluded area behind the building, feeling somewhat nervous. He could obviously tell why she was asking for him specifically like this. She was Eren’s friend after all and she’d have no other reason to seek him out.

“What gives?” she asked, folding her arms and raising her eyebrows. Her tone was flat and hard to read. Armin wished he could’ve discerned what she was feeling so he could choose his response accordingly.

“Um… what do you mean, Captain?” he asked.

“You and Eren,” she deadpanned. “And don’t play dumb. Eren disappeared for a week and happened to show up with you last night. What’s that about?”

“Oh, you uh.. You saw us?” Armin gulped, blushing. If she’d seen them arrive she would’ve seen their kiss too.

“Obviously. Don’t make me ask again. What’s going on with you two?” she asked.

“Well, I guess there’s no use lying,” Armin sighed, scratching the back of his head. “General Jaeger… Eren and I are together. Well, it’s really new but I like him and he likes me back so… that’s it really. It’s fairly new though, like, it’s been two days since we spoke about our feelings. Before that all we did was hang out and read, really.”

“Hold on,” Captain Mikasa said, holding up a hand with an incredulous expression. “What did you say you two did again?”

“Hung out?” Armin said, confused.

“No no. The other part…”

“We read books...” Armin repeated. He didn’t think there was anything unusual about what they did but the captain seemed to think so.

“You… and Eren… read books?” she asked, sounding way more surprised than Armin thought she should have been. “Eren Jaeger?  _ Read books? _ ”

“Yes… what’s wrong with reading books?” Armin asked, feeling slightly defensive. She couldn’t possibly be looking down on his hobby!

Unexpectedly, Captain Mikasa bursted out laughing. He watched her in confusion as she doubled over and clutched her stomach. He was torn between feeling offended and being in awe that she was openly laughing in front of him. She had a beautiful laugh and it made her seem more youthful.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she said as she tried to catch her breath. “I’m not knocking your hobby, I just,” she paused to let out another peel of laughter, “I’ve known Eren for nearly my entire life and he’s never willingly picked up a book unless he absolutely  _ had to _ .

“I can’t believe it,” she giggled. “He has that stupid loved up look on his face because he spent the whole week with you  _ reading books _ ! Unbelievable!”

“I mean… I enjoyed it,” Armin blushed, looking down. Did Eren only spend his time reading with him to please him? If Eren had only done that because he wanted to spend time with Armin it was rather sweet.

“Don’t get me, wrong,” Captain Mikasa said, clapping him on the shoulder. “I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. I’m just saying, if he’s like this right now all over spending a little time reading with you, what’s he gonna be like when you guys start doing other stuff?”

She wiggled her eyebrows then and Armin couldn’t help his deepening blush.

“Captain!” he yelled, scandalized. “We… we’re not… we don’t…”

“Relax, Armin,” she laughed. “I’m just teasing you.”

His shoulders sagged then as he relaxed.

“You know, I really thought I was gonna be in some sort of trouble,” he laughed sheepishly.

“Please, we’re all adults here,” she said, rolling her eyes. “As long as you don’t hurt Eren or give me any reason to think you’re using him, you won’t have to worry about getting in any trouble, if you get what I’m saying.” 

Armin nodded.

“I understand,” he agreed. “And I can promise you I’m not using Eren and I would never hurt Eren. I… I like him way too much to do that.”

“Good,” she nodded, serious again. “Eren is the only family I have left and I just want him to be happy. If you’re who he thinks will do that then I’ll support it.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Armin smiled. It was obvious that she cared about Eren a lot and he was once again grateful that she was in his life. It was nice to know that Eren had someone who cared about him that much.

“Mikasa,” she said. “When we’re off-duty. Call me that in training and I’ll break your knees.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Armin laughed, saluting. She rolled her eyes and clapped him on the shoulders again.

“Let’s go,” she said. “Before your little friends think I’ve killed you and disposed of your body somewhere.”

Armin smiled as he followed behind her, even as her usual stoic demeanor returned once they were no longer secluded. The unexpected conversation with the captain gave him a huge boost. She seemed to approve of his relationship with Eren on the condition that he didn’t hurt him, which Armin thought was only fair. He’d been happy before because Eren had fit perfectly into his life. The people he cared about liked Eren a lot and he clearly liked them too. However, Armin hadn’t thought about how  _ he _ would fit into Eren’s life. A part of him avoided thinking about it because of his previous doubts but his conversation with Mikasa made him feel reassured.

Armin was also pleasantly surprised by her personality. During training she was rather strict and demanding. However, speaking with her revealed her much more caring side. She wasn’t the stone cold soldier everyone thought her to be. Well... she wasn’t  _ just _ that.

The high spirits he went into training with translated well into his performance that morning. Armin found out that he was rather quick to learn how to use the ODM gear. He had no issue gaining balance and control over his body in the raised harnesses they had everyone practice with. He supposed being lighter and more agile than the other guys made it much easier for him. 

He was also happy to be training under Eren again and, even though they couldn’t interact as intimately as they’d recently gotten used to, he was still happy to be able to see him, stealing glances at the young general whenever he could.

When their physical training ended, the other trainees wasted no time moving towards the mess hall for lunch. Normally Armin would be right there with them, but Eren had managed to mumble out a quiet request to stay behind when he was helping Armin get into the harness earlier. His expression hadn’t changed when he did and anyone watching you would have just assumed he was giving Armin some pointers.

“Armin? You coming?” Reiner asked, noticing he was hanging back. They weren’t by any means close but they were somewhat friends. He was one of the few people Reiner would talk to outside of his group of friends so he supposed that meant something. 

“Uh, yeah I’ll be in soon. Just need a minute to catch my breath. That last lap was brutal. I must’ve gotten out of shape during the break ,” Armin lied.

“Alright, see you,” Reiner said, giving him a weird look before leaving.

Armin waited until everyone was gone and out of sight before he turned to where Eren was standing, looking down at his usual score sheet and progress reports for the recruits.

“Hi,” Armin smiled shyly when he approached him.

“Armin,” Eren said his name softly, offering him a small smile before leaning down to kiss him deeply. Armin melted right into his body almost immediately, snaking his arms around his waist.

“Mmm… wait,” Armin laughed softly, pulling away briefly. “We’ll get caught…”

“No one’s around,” Eren mumbled, capturing his lips again. Armin didn’t protest this time, allowing their lips to move in tandem. Eren’s own arms had wound themselves around his waist too. Pressing himself closer and getting on his tiptoes, Armin took the initiative to deepen their kiss by swiping his tongue across Eren’s bottom lip. Just as he was about to really get into it, he heard a familiar voice.

“Tsk, tsk,” Captain Mikasa tutted, frightening Armin and causing him to jump away from Eren. “You two are unbelievable.”

“Oh my god!” Armin yelled, heart pounding in his chest. “You scared me.”

Eren laughed and pulled him back in, kissing his forehead and resting his chin on Armin’s head. 

“What do you want, Mikasa?” Eren asked. “Can’t you see we’re busy?”

“You know, I don’t know why you two are even trying to keep this a secret if you’re just going to go around kissing everywhere,” she rolled her eyes. 

“I told you we’d get caught,” Armin mumbled, hiding his face in Eren’s chest. He was obviously embarrassed that Mikasa caught them kissing.

“It’s just Mikasa,” Eren chuckled. “Anyways, what is it?”

“Levi wants to see you,” she told Eren. “And before you ask, I honestly don’t know why.”

Armin both felt and heard Eren sigh. “Dammit,” he grumbled. “Fine, I’ll be there in a bit. Give me a second.”

Mikasa seemed to take the hint and nodded, leaving the two alone once again.

“I told you we’d-”

“Don’t say it,” Eren grumbled half-heartedly, pecking Armin’s lips. “I guess I have to go. And you should probably go eat before your comrades clear out the mess hall.”

“Yeah,” Armin sighed. “I guess I’ll see you later?”

“Meet me at our usual spot after dinner,” Eren nodded. 

After a final kiss, Eren left him to follow after Mikasa. Armin watched him leave before finally making his way to lunch.

The casualness between the two of them was no different from the few days they’d spent together before his confession, but the closeness that came with their romantic feelings never failed to make Armin’s stomach flutter. It was also an even nicer feeling knowing there was someone who approved of their relationship.

It was all in all a strange feeling for Armin, but it was nice. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellloooooo wow, it's been a while... um... hi?
> 
> LOL, sorry for the lack of updates guys. I just started my FINAL semester of university EVER and I wanted to make sure I had a good start to set the tone for the rest of the semester. 
> 
> Also, I had a whole different version of this chapter written since before school even started but I wasn't quite happy with it to be honest. I went and rewrote it and this is that. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Daily updates probably won't be a thing anymore, at least not consistently but I'm aiming for AT LEAST two updates a week. There might be weeks with more than two updates depending on how busy I am but two is the most I can promise you guys for now. If anything changes I'll update you guys.
> 
> As always, thank you for reading and enjoying my work! 
> 
> ~neo


	12. Chapter Eleven

Armin smiled to himself as he sneaked away to his and Eren’s rendezvous spot, the bench where they’d had their first conversation.

After he and Eren had parted, he’d spent the rest of the day doing his usual routine. He’d also had to fend off his friends’ constant interrogation about his conversation with Mikasa. He’d told them it was nothing important, just some advice she’d forgotten to give him before the break. Armin knew it was a weak excuse and his friends seemed to see right through it too as the onslaught of questions didn’t stop. Even during dinner they continued to question him about the exchange and only dropped it when Reiner stepped in. Since Ymir and Krista had apparently gotten even closer over the week-long break, they’d all ended up sharing a table that night. Even Annie, who looked like she saw everyone outside of her circle as pests, was there with them and appeared to be fitting in.

“Really guys, come on,” Armin had said with a sigh when he sat down. “I’m telling the truth. It was nothing.”

“Yeah, right,” Connie rolled his eyes. “Seriously tell us what’s going on. Jean’s sulking because he thinks you two are in some secret relationship.” To Armin that sounded completely ridiculous so surely no one _ actually _ thought that.

Well aware of Jean’s crush on Mikasa, Armin rolled his eyes.

“I’m literally not interested in women, Connie, you all know this. And Jean, I’m not going to steal Captain Mikasa from you, not that she’s yours anyway,” he mumbled that last bit. “Now can we please move on?”

“I still think it’s weird,” Connie grumbled, stabbing at a piece of carrot with his fork. “She could’ve said what you claimed in front of us.”

“Just drop it,” Reiner said from the other end of the table. “You’re all making me lose my appetite.”

The conversation changed quickly at that and Armin gave Reiner a brief, grateful smile for helping to squash the argument, receiving a curt nod in return. The rest of dinner passed with no event as a result, and Armin was grateful for it. If they’d questioned him anymore it would have probably soured his mood and he didn’t want to meet Eren like that.

When he finally arrived at their spot, he noticed that Eren was already there. Tiptoeing quietly, he snuck up behind Eren and covered his eyes with his hands or, well, he  _ tried _ to sneak up on him. Eren didn’t even flinch. Instead, he laughed. 

“Please, I heard you coming from a mile away,” he chuckled, reaching up to take Armin’s hands from his eyes, giving them a gentle squeeze before releasing them.

“That’s not fair,” Armin pouted. “How did you even hear me coming?”

“Secret,” Eren turned around to grin at him as he stood. “How was dinner?” he asked.

“It was okay, you know. Same old same old,” Armin shrugged, smiling when Eren came around to take his hand.

“Let’s go.”

“Huh? Where are we going?” Armin asked, curious. He thought they were just going to spend some time together outside like they usually did.

“Inside. Unless you want to stay out here in the cold?” was the response we got back.

“Inside as in…?”

“Inside as in my quarters,” Eren responded. “Unless you’re uncomfortable with that, then we can just stay out here.”

“No, no, it’s not that. It’s just… Won’t the others see me? You know, the commanders and so on...” Armin asked, looking around as Eren began leading him to the building that housed the higher ups’ private quarters. 

Eren stopped short then and looked down at Armin.

“I promise you don’t have to worry about them, okay? They don’t particularly care and it’s not like they can do anything about it,” Eren explained, reaching up to cup Armin’s cheeks. “I know you don’t want your peers to find out and I promise I won’t risk that for you. I’m just letting you know you don’t have to worry about anyone else.”

“Are you sure?” Armin asked. “I just don’t want you to get in trouble if someone finds out about this and doesn’t approve.”

Armin almost swore he saw amusement dancing in Eren’s eyes for a few moments before they turned soft again.

“Trust me, there’s no one above me that’ll get mad,” Eren chuckled. “You don’t have to worry about anything.”

Armin was still skeptical, but he decided to trust Eren.

“Okay,” he nodded. “I trust you.”

Eren smiled, kissing his forehead lightly before releasing his face. He was quite affectionate, Armin noticed. It was nice. Obviously Armin had never been in a relationship before and had nothing to compare it to, but he quite enjoyed Eren’s tendencies to kiss him whenever he felt like it, be it on the lips, his forehead or his cheeks, hold his hands or simply just embrace him. Perhaps he just liked affection or, more specifically, affection coming from Eren. He also wondered if Eren was someone who secretly craved affection too. A week ago he wouldn't have thought that, but he'd learned so much more about him since then he knew not to make any assumptions. Eren was a man with many layers.

He followed him into the building, feeling somewhat nervous and excited. Eren’s been to his home before and seen his space, but this would be the first time he would be going anywhere of Eren’s. Of course his quarters at the barracks weren’t his  _ actual home _ , but it was still his personal space. He enjoyed getting closer to Eren little by little, even before he’d confessed his feelings and got together with him. Some may say he was too hung up on the little things, but Armin was genuinely just happy to get to know more and more about the man he was ready and willing to share his mind, body and soul with. 

Once inside Eren’s room, he waited for the other to turn the lights on before he took in the space itself. It wasn’t a particularly large room or anything luxury, but for one person it was huge when compared to the size of the rooms back at the trainee dorms. There was a rather comfortable looking double bed pushed to the corner of the room, the typical closet, a dresser with a mirror attached, the standard bedside table next to the bed and, probably the most noticeable thing in the room, a large fluffy rug spread out in the center of the floor. The only other things in the room were the lamps and another door Armin planned to ask about.

“Make yourself comfortable,” Eren told him as he shrugged off his uniform jacket. 

“So this is where the great General Jaeger sleeps,” Armin smiled, looking around the room. He toed off his shoes and stepped onto the rug, sighing softly at the softness between his feet.

“It’s nothing fancy but it’s comfortable,” Eren stated, hanging up the jacket on the hook behind the door.

“It’s a little bare though,” Armin pointed out as he walked across the rug and sat down on the bed. “You don’t have any photos or decorations or anything like that?”

“I’m usually only in here to sleep,” Eren shrugged. “Busy schedule and all that.”

Armin frowned but said nothing. He was well aware of Eren’s busy schedule and tendency to overwork himself. He’d expressed his concern about it to Eren already and he didn’t want to come across as a nagger. Instead, he made himself comfortable and laid down, turning onto his side to watch Eren who had begun to rifle through his drawers, pulling out some clothes.

“What’s through there?” he asked, pointing towards the second door. “Another closet?”

“No, it’s the bathroom,” Eren said nonchalantly, as if it weren’t a big deal.

“You have your own bathroom? Wow,” Armin said, surprised. “Wait, do you  _ all _ have your own bathrooms here? If yes, can I move dorms?”

That earned him a laugh. “No, not everyone has their own bathroom. This room is the only one that does.”

“Oh, so it’s just a room for whoever’s the highest ranking officer then, right?” Armin guessed, not thinking too much into it. 

“I suppose so,” Eren shrugged. “Speaking of bathrooms, I’m gonna take a shower. You don’t mind waiting do you?” Eren asked.

“Not at all,” Armin shook his head.

“I’ll be back in a bit then,” he said, taking the clothes he’d taken and disappearing into the other room.

Man, Eren had all that space to himself and seemed to be living comfortably. It’s a shame he didn’t have the time to enjoy it all. Armin would give an arm and a leg to be able to have quiet time with his thoughts and his books indoors. Sure, it was nice to do outside but it wasn’t something he’d be able to do all the time especially during cold seasons or whenever it rained.

Flopping onto his belly, he pressed his face into Eren’s pillow and inhaled deeply. As he expected, it smelled a lot like him. This brought a smile to his face and he chose to stay like that for a while, allowing himself to relax and enjoy the scent and the softness of the bed. He didn’t know how long he laid there like that until he finally heard the water from the shower stop and, a few minutes later, heard the door to the bathroom open.

“Are you sleeping?” he heard Eren ask.

“No,” he mumbled into the pillow. “Just wondering how much I could pay you to switch rooms with me.”

He heard an amused chuckle at that and decided to look up, face immediately heating up when he noticed Eren’s appearance. His hair, which was much longer than he thought it was, was wet and flowing down freely, stopping just above his shoulders in wet tendrils. Usually Eren kept it in a bun pulled behind his head and while his long, wet hair was visually appealing, Armin couldn’t help his eyes from wandering to Eren’s chest and abs which were bare. The only thing he wore was a pair of loose black sleep-pants that hung low on his hips.

“I don’t know if I want to room with a bunch of rookies. My days of bunking are long over,” Eren laughed, reaching up to run the towel he held over his head to help dry his hair. “But you’re welcomed to move in.”

Armin pressed his face back into the pillow to hide his blush, not wanting Eren to see the effect it had on him.

“You can’t just say things like that,” Armin groaned.

“What? I’m only offering,” he heard Eren say, a teasing tone to his voice. “Also will you please get your face from out of that pillow? At this rate you’ll suffocate.”

“Not until you put on a shirt,” Armin grumbled quietly, thinking Eren wouldn’t hear it.

“What was that?” Eren asked. 

“Nothing!”

“Are you sure?” he heard again, closer this time.

“Sure-Ah! Eren!” Armin yelled, feeling himself being flipped over onto his back and finding himself staring up into mesmerizing emerald eyes.

“Whoops,” Eren grinned cheekily, leaning down to kiss him tenderly on the lips. “Needed you on your back to do that,” he added when he pulled away.

If it were possible to melt right out of his skin, Armin was sure he would’ve done so in that moment. How did Eren seem so calm and collected saying those things, meanwhile he was fighting to keep his face one shade? Armin groaned out of frustration.

“You’re evil you know that?” Armin mumbled. “You’re too perfect and I bet you know it.”

“I could say the same about you,” Eren grinned. “You have no idea the effect you have on people do you?”

“What are you talking about?” Armin asked, looking away shyly. “I’m nowhere near perfect.”

“You’re right,” Eren said softly. “You’re _beyond_ it. I told you already but I’ll keep telling you until you start to believe it. I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you, Armin. You bring me a sense of peace I don’t think I’ve ever experienced before meeting you.”

“Eren…” Armin whispered, feeling the sincerity of his words. “You mean that?” He was still looking away, his heart skipping a beat in his chest at Eren’s words.

“Look at me, Armin,” he said. Armin shyly turned his head to look back up at Eren. “I would never lie to you about how I feel about you. I can promise you that.”

“Eren, I…” Armin smiled softly, not sure what he wanted to say or how to put his feelings into words. Instead, he reached up and pulled Eren in for a kiss. It was slow and sweet at first but quickly became heated when they adjusted themselves properly so that Eren lay between his legs. Snaking his arms around Eren’s back, he couldn’t quite control the urge he got to press his fingertips into the muscled flesh there. As their tongues clashed in a desperate fight for dominance, Armin could sense a strange feeling of excitement building in him.

“Eren...” he mumbled against his mouth softly between kisses.

“Hmm?” Eren hummed in response, biting down lightly on Armin’s lower lip which caused him to gasp.

“I don’t… I’m not…” he couldn’t finish his sentence, face flushed from both the kiss and his embarrassment. Eren seemed to understand what he wanted to say though, as he pulled away to properly look down at him.

“Don’t worry,” he said, giving him a reassuring smile. “We won’t do anything you don’t want to do.”

Armin smiled, grateful Eren knew what he wanted and would honour that.

“Thank you,” he said softly, biting his bottom lip just where Eren had moments ago. “I trust you.”

“And I trust you,” Eren told him with a smile. Armin leaned up to reconnect their lips. They kept their pace slower that time, but it wasn’t any less exciting than before. Eren’s lips were as soft as lips could possibly get and his body was nice and warm on top of Armin. He didn’t want the moment to end but of course, it had to.

After who knows how long of just laying there and kissing, they were startled by the loud sound of someone rapping on Eren’s door.

“Are you gonna get that?” Armin asked, _whispered_ , between kisses.

“Just ignore them,” Eren mumbled, kissing his way down Armin’s neck. “They’ll just leave.”

“You sure?” Armin asked, letting out a gasp at the new sensation. Who knew necks were so sensitive?

“Mmhm,” Eren hummed against his skin, choosing to suck at the spot that had made him gasp.

“Oh my god,” Armin practically moaned, blushing the sound of his own voice and the reaction that was pulled from him. He bit down on his lip, well aware that someone was still outside the door. 

“Your highness, please. It’s urgent!” he heard a familiar voice, his weapons and equipment lecturer, call out.

_ Your highness? _ Armin knew Eren was related to the king but he’d never heard anyone address him that formally before.

“You should.. You should probably go,” Armin said, nudging Eren a little who pulled away with a sigh. 

“I swear to god,” Eren grumbled, detaching himself from Armin and walking over to the closet. “Just a moment!” he called out, letting the interrupter know he’d be on his way. Armin sat up and watched him quickly put on a shirt. “I’ll be right back. You can wait if you want but if you don't, it's okay to leave.”

“No, no, it’s okay. I'll just wait for you to get back,” Armin reassured him. “Go. it seems like they really need you.”

“I’ll try not to take too long,” Eren sighed. 

He watched the general leave the room before flopping back onto the bed, reaching up to touch his neck where Eren was just kissing. His blush seemed like a permanent stain on his cheeks. He let his mind wander to their shared moments, a small smile dancing on his lips as he did. It was entirely thrilling to be at the mercy of Eren’s lips. Lost in thought, Armin didn’t even know how long Eren was away for. He was aware it was getting late but he’d promised him he would wait. He was also worried about what could have happened to cause such a long and late emergency meeting.

It seemed he was waiting for quite a while and ended up falling asleep because the next thing he knew, he was opening his eyes to darkness and the feeling of the bed dipping next to him.

“Eren?” he mumbled, confused.

“Shh, it’s me,” Eren said quietly next to him. “Looks like you fell asleep. It’s too late to go back now so just get some rest.”

Armin instinctively snuggled up to Eren’s side when he felt him lie down, closing his eyes again with a tired sigh.

“The meeting…?” he asked groggily.

“I’ll tell you tomorrow,” he heard, already slipping back into unconsciousness. The last thing he felt was lips against his forehead as he drifted off completely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mysterious meeting in the middle of the night? Hmmm, I wonder what for????
> 
> LOL hi guys, hope all is well! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> ~neo


	13. Interlude: The Meeting

“Your highness,” the soldiers greeted him when he entered the meeting room located in the same building that housed his private quarters. 

The room had a long rectangular table in the center of it, fully occupied save for his place at the head. Among those present were his fellow instructors which included his close friends and comrades: Mikasa, Levi, Erwin and Hange. There was also his team of advisors who must’ve traveled all the way from the palace within the inner walls to be there and finally, he recognized the heads of the various outer wall brigades dispatched and his current Minister of Social Security and Welfare, Eld Gin.

“What’s going on?” Eren asked, taking care to not let his annoyance show in his face or his voice. After seven years as a king he’d pretty much mastered keeping his expression passive, but he felt particularly annoyed that night.

They waited until he was seated at the head of the table before someone, Eld, finally spoke.

“There’s been an incident, Your Highness,” he stated. “A tsunami in Gerry District.”

Gerry District was a small, seaside town that, like all the other outer wall districts, had been formed when the Eldians living in Marley chose to relocate to the island. 

The news of the tsunami hitting was alarming though. In all his years of living on the island, he’d never heard of such a thing happening. But then again, most of those years were spent confined within walls at the center of the island.

“The casualties?” he asked, looking over at Eld.

“The incident happened earlier this evening and so far there’s only been twenty confirmed deaths. However, there’s also a few missing people we still haven’t found,” Eld explained. “In addition to that, a lot of their homes have been damaged. Their port is completely out of commission too.”

“I see,” Eren nodded, drumming his fingers on the table as he thought. After a moment, he sighed and looked to one of his advisors, Petra. “What’s the population size in Gerry?”

“Just a few hundred, sir. No more than 200 I believe,” she responded. “Should be less after what’s happened.”

“Very well. Petra I want you to work with Eld to arrange for supplies to be brought into Gerry. Food, clothes, anything necessary to help out for the time being. Make sure there’s enough for at least 200 people. I know it’s a lot to ask on short notice but have it all prepared tomorrow so it can be brought in by the next day,” Eren told them. “You,” he turned to the head of the outer wall brigade. “Have your men go back to assess the damage that’s been done to all the homes. I want a detailed report by the time we arrive with the supplies on Wednesday.”

“But Your Highness,” Mikasa spoke up, addressing him formally which was necessary in a setting like that. “Won’t this put even more strain on our resources? You’ve already been helping all those districts that have been getting earthquakes for a while now and our troops are spread thin trying to help with the rebuilding. We don’t have the manpower to do it all.”

“We have more than enough money to keep providing relief aid, Captain,” Eren said. That much was true, but Mikasa did have a point regarding the availability of soldiers available to help. While the New Eldia Defence Force was large in size, each squadron had their duties and designated zones of operation. He’d already had to pull a few men from different zones to help with the other incidents and there were only so many men he could pull without compromising the country’s defenses.

“What about the recruits?” Erwin chimed in. “It’s just to transport and distribute the supplies right? It’s simple enough. We can have them do it.”

“That’s true,” Hange nodded. “We can supervise them of course and I think it could be field experience. These are things they might have to do one day if something happens so why not?”

“That’s true,” Eren agreed. “That settles that then. We’ll have the recruits deliver and distribute the supplies on Wednesday so Petra and Eld, make sure to have it all ready by the end of tomorrow. We’re also gonna need some more wagons brought in. Floch, you take care of that. Erwin, Levi, Hange, Mikasa, notify your recruits tomorrow so they know what’s ahead.”

Everyone agreed to play their part and that portion of the meeting ended rather quickly. Eren, however, knew that there was more to discuss and he could tell that his friends shared the same thought by the look on their faces. He ended up dismissing everyone except Hange, Erwin, Levi, Petra and Mikasa.

“Oy, Eren,” Levi said when they were finally alone. “Don’t you think something’s funny about this?”

“Mmhm,” Eren agreed, his brows furrowed as he began to think. “Gerry was the first place to report an earthquake a while back, right?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Petra nodded. “Though no significant damage was done there at the time.”

“And also the first place that reported missing fishermen right?” he asked again.

“Yes, sir,” Petra nodded, though she failed to connect the two situations together.

There’d been recent reports of people going missing at sea but nothing ever came of the investigations that occurred as a result. It was something Eren had been dealing with for a while and part of the reason he’d been away for a month. But since nothing was uncovered in his men’s investigations, the cases were closed and written off as accidents. 

“But what do the missing fishermen and the earthquakes have in common?” Hange asked, adjusting her thick-framed glasses on her face. 

“There’s no connection, obviously,” Mikasa said. “Earthquakes are natural disasters that happen on land. There’s no correlation.”

“No, you’re wrong,” Eren shook his head. “Earthquakes can happen out at sea. In fact, an earthquake out at sea is probably what caused the tsunami today.” Ever since the first earthquake was reported, Eren had taken a bit of time to find some information on them and had come across that tidbit.

“Oh,” Mikasa said, taking in the new information. “You think that’s why the fishermen have been going missing then? They got caught up in something out at sea that didn’t reach land?”

“That’s the logical way to think about it,” Eren stated, though it was clear he wasn’t in agreement. Erwin, whose wheels in his brain had begun turning, gave him a look of understanding.

“But you don’t think that’s what happened,” Erwin said, rather than asked.

“No,” Eren said. “I don’t think so. It would be easy to think that but something just doesn’t feel right. The local fishermen in these smaller seaside towns don’t go out so far where if something strange were happening in the water it wouldn’t be seen. There’s no way they were caught up in a wave. No one’s reported any strange activity with the water at all.”

“So what are you thinking then?” Levi asked.

“I don’t know,” Eren shook his head, feeling a headache coming on. “I just have a bad feeling about this.”

“Me too,” Hange sighed.

“I’m going to have to look more into why people are going missing at sea. As for the earthquakes, well, there’s not much we  _ can _ do about those for the time being.”

“Shouldn’t we evacuate the other towns then?” Mikasa asked. “The ones who experienced something similar to Gerry?”

“All of them? That would cause a panic!” Hange objected. “Besides, we have nowhere to put them and we can’t just tell them to leave their homes behind in case there’s a tsunami. For all we know it might not even happen and this could be the only one.”

“But what if it does happen? Do we do nothing?” Erwin asked, clearly siding with Mikasa.

“Are you suggesting we waste time and energy on a large scale evacuation that might be pointless?” Levi asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s better to be safe than sorry,” Mikasa said, folding her arms. “We can’t just sit and let it happen again!”

It turned into an all out quarrel after that, going back and forth about whether or not they should evacuate the outermost towns or not. Eren already had a full blown headache and their arguing wasn’t making it any better.

“Enough!” he shouted, slamming his hand down on the table. The room went quiet instantly.

“Look,” he said. “You both make excellent points. We can’t do nothing but we also have to think about this logically. Natural disasters aren’t something we can predict so we can’t say for sure it’ll happen again. We have to approach this with caution.”

“So what do you propose, Your Highness?” Petra asked.

“For now, we don’t evacuate. We can’t risk having the people panic about their lives and homes being at risk. If something were to happen again then we can proceed with evacuations but for now we have to take the chance and wait. As for more resources and supplies, we can have some brought in from the continent via airships. More soldiers or anyone willing to volunteer too, if necessary.”

“We’re still risking lives, Eren,” Mikasa protested.

“You don’t think I know that?” Eren shouted. “I know! But I’m trying to do what’s best for everyone and the country right now. I can’t just get up and evacuate whole towns on a whim because I have a bad feeling. Think it through. If nothing happens and I end up uprooting all these people’s lives and causing them unnecessary hindrances what kind of fool of a king would I be? And there’s a high chance even the people behind the walls will begin to panic. I can’t have that either.”

“But-”

“But nothing, Mikasa. I’ve made my decision,” Eren said with finality. “As for the disappearances, I’ll look into that myself this time since nothing has come from the other investigations. Are we all in agreement?”

They all voiced their agreement, even Mikasa who was still reluctant. Eren had made his decision and his word was the law. There really wasn’t much he could do.

“That’s it then,” Eren sighed. “Just please, Petra, make sure we get the supplies ready in time. After seeing the damage we can decide how to proceed from there. This is the plan in the meantime.”

“I’ll get it done,” she nodded.

“Do any of you have anything to add?” he asked, ready to end the meeting.

No one said anything and Eren took that as his answer.

“That’s settled then. We all know what we need to do,” he said and called the meeting. 

They all returned to their rooms in silence, clearly still feeling tense about the situation. Eren understood. They knew how to deal with man-made disasters like war. Having lived and fought through one for years that’s all they knew. None of them had experiences with natural disasters and it’s not like they could  _ fight _ that. 

Sighing, Eren entered his room to find Armin sound asleep in the middle of the bed. He knew he probably should’ve sent him back to the dorms but he didn’t have the guts to wake him up. Instead, he grabbed an extra sheet from his closet and turned out the lights. He draped the sheet over Armin’s body and moved to get into bed with him.

“Eren?” he heard Armin mumble, stirring slightly.

“Shh, it’s me,” he reassured him. “Looks like you fell asleep. It’s too late to go back now so just get some rest.”

When he finally got comfortable on the bed, he felt Armin move closer to him, pressing into his side.

“The meeting…” he mumbled. Of course he would be curious, but it was far too much to talk about while Armin was half asleep.

“I’ll tell you tomorrow,” Eren promised him. Not shortly after, he heard Armin’s breathing even out again, indicating that he had fallen back to sleep. Eren himself couldn’t fall asleep that night. His mind was alive with everything that was going on around him. Something about the whole thing just didn’t seem right and he couldn’t shake the feeling.

There was also one more thing that had been weighing on his mind for the past few days. He and Armin’s relationship was fairly new, but he already knew he could trust Armin with his entire life on the line already. He’d known it before he even met him. But he still hadn’t been able to tell Armin his true identity yet. He didn’t know why, but he supposed he just wanted to enjoy their time together as two normal people. Telling Armin he was actually the king could potentially burden him and he didn’t want that.

He knew he would have to tell him soon though, perhaps after everything calmed down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Natural disasters, strangely missing people? What's going on???????
> 
> LMAO I always write these questions at the end as if I don't know what's gonna happen but it's true, I don't know half the time. I usually have the general idea of what's going to happen next and how I want the story to flow but the little details that make the story what it truly is never come to me until I sit down to type. 
> 
> Anyways, everything's going to come to ahead soon so let's see what happens. Things will pick up quite a bit from here on out and I'm looking forward to that lol.
> 
> Let me know if you enjoyed this chapter in the comments!
> 
> Also I've written a one shot that I actually had so much fun writing. It has quite a few hits and kudos but not much feedback on the story itself so if you're interested in checking that out and letting me know what you think I'd really appreciate that.  
> \- https://archiveofourown.org/works/29101509
> 
> Thanks a bunch!
> 
> ~neo


End file.
